The fox, thanks to its ability to adapt to the most different conditions, mastered everything climatic zones and all continents except Antarctica.

Taxonomy

Russian name - ordinary or red fox
English name- Red fox
Latin name - Vulpes vulpes
Order - carnivores (Carnivora)
Family - canids (Canidae)
Genus - foxes (Vulpes)

Conservation status of the species

The animal is common throughout its entire range.

Species and man

The red fox is very widespread, found in many countries, has a bright appearance and, of course, is not deprived of attention from humans. The fox is a constant character in fairy tales, legends, and myths. She embodies cunning and deceit, playing quite a variety of roles: from treacherous scoundrels (in most Russian fairy tales) to smart advisers (as in Boris Shergin’s fairy tale “Poiga and the Fox”). Both in the east and in the west, legends about werewolf foxes are widespread, capable of turning into seductive women, giving magical gifts, and often destroy the people who trusted them. IN Japanese mythology Were-foxes (kitsune) have enormous knowledge and master magic. Kitsune later became popular in literature, cinema and video games. Similar spirits also appear in Chinese and Korean myths. In Mesopotamian mythology, the fox is a sacred animal; it serves the goddess Ki as a messenger. In Finland, the fox is a symbol of cunning, but not evil.

This beauty has taken its place in heraldry; it is a symbol of insight, cunning, and foresight.

The fox is of great economic importance as a valuable fur-bearing animal, while it destroys many rodents and insects - consumers of grain, is an object of sport hunting and serves as a wonderful decoration of nature. Of course, the fox is a predator and destroys a certain amount of game, but the damage that foxes cause to commercial game and poultry is much less than the benefit they bring by protecting our fields from rodents. However, in countries Western Europe The fox is considered a harmful predator subject to year-round extermination. And this is quite justified, since the animals there have fur of little value, and sporting farms breed a lot of game birds that suffer from foxes.

Foxes living near hiking trails, boarding houses, and in places where hunting is prohibited quickly get used to the presence of humans and even begin begging. However, wild foxes are one of the carriers of the rabies virus, so some caution must be observed.

Foxes are bred in captivity for their fur. IN late XIX centuries, a breed of silver-black (silver-brown) foxes was artificially bred. Then, thanks to selection, the quality of fur of this breed was significantly improved (compared to the wild type), and a number of other color variations were developed based on it: platinum, Bakurian, Dakota and others.

Distribution and habitats

Area common fox- one of the largest among all mammals. It covers almost the entire non-tropical part northern hemisphere- Eurasia (except for the extreme southeast), North America (except for the Mexican Highlands), the extreme north of Africa.

In this vast territory the animal inhabits almost everything. natural areas- forests of various types, tundra, steppe, arid areas, highlands. She lives both at the “Pole of Cold” in Yakutia and in the hot Arabian deserts. There is no fox only in arctic deserts Far North, where its niche is occupied by the arctic fox.

This “ubiquitous” animal prefers open and lightly overgrown areas with copses, ravines and ravines. The living conditions for it are optimal in the forest-steppe and steppe - here the fox is found everywhere. In vast forest areas, especially where the winter is long and snowy, it is less common. In areas with a dry climate, the fox can often be found along dry ancient river beds covered with tugai thickets. In many places she prefers to settle next to a person. In the vicinity of large cities, it constantly stays close to landfills, which serve as sources of food.

Appearance and morphology

The fox is a very beautiful, slender animal with a characteristic long, pointed muzzle. The coloring and size of these animals are characterized by great geographical variability - more than 25 subspecies are known. In general, to the north of their range, foxes become larger and brighter, to the south - smaller and duller in color. Males have a body length of 50–90 cm, shoulder height of 35–50 cm, weight from 2.5 to 10 kg, females are slightly smaller. In winter, because of the lush fur, the fox looks squat, with a massive body, in summer - lean, tall-legged. The fur is thick, quite short and coarse in summer, lush and soft in winter.

The forest fox is called “firefox” for its bright coloring: it is reddish-red on top, the throat and chest are white, the back of the ears and the front of the legs are black, the tail is red with a white tip. In northern regions with harsh climatic conditions, foxes are often found with a predominance of black pigment - melanin - in their fur. “Sivodushki” are foxes with a gray-brown back, red-yellow sides and a dark brown belly; “crossed” - even darker animals in which the dark color of the paws is fused with a wide “belt” on the back; “Silver foxes” - animals with black-brown or black skin.

The sense organs of a fox are similar to other canids. She has excellent hearing - she can hear the squeak of a mouse a hundred meters away. Vision is much weaker, the fox mainly reacts to moving objects, but calmly standing man does not distinguish, sometimes, even in 10 steps. At the same time, this predator has an excellent visual memory, noticing the slightest changes in the situation near the hole. A fox's sense of smell is somewhat worse than that of a dog.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

The fox, although it belongs to typical predators, feeds on a wide variety of foods. Among the food it eats there are more than 300 species of animals and several dozen species of plants. Everywhere, the basis of its diet consists of rodents, primarily voles. The fox eats hares and birds, mainly small passerines, chickens, and waterfowl. On Far East Foxes living on the islands, like arctic foxes, subsist mainly on sea emissions, and during the spawning run of red fish they also eat them. In the southern arid regions, a significant proportion of the diet consists of reptiles - lizards and non-venomous snakes. During the mass flight of locusts, the predator becomes insectivorous. With a lack of natural animal food, the fox systematically attacks poultry. At the end of summer - autumn, she often visits melon fields and vineyards, picking up fallen apples, pears, cherry plums, and cherries.

While hunting for small rodents - "mousing" - the fox looks very funny. You can see her doing this activity most often in winter, on a snow-covered field. Getting excited, she seems to be dancing in one place, bouncing on her hind legs and hitting the ground with force with her front legs. In this way, the predator drives frightened rodents out of their holes to the surface, where it catches them. At the same time, she sometimes gets so carried away that she lets you get very close to her. The fox eats the caught small thing entirely, without stopping. It drags larger prey aside, partially eats it, and buries the remains in the ground. If you're lucky, several foxes will gather around the carrion or carcass of a large ungulate killed by wolves. Here they live for several days. The fox, unlike the wolf, never eats to capacity; usually 300–350 grams of meat per day is enough for her. However, with an abundance of mouse-like rodents, the predator does not stop hunting for them even after satiation: it does not eat them after catching them, but having caught them, it plays like a cat.

Vocalization

Lifestyle and behavior

The fox is a fairly sedentary animal, however, protecting the territory is apparently not typical for it, and the hunting areas of different animals overlap. In its area, the fox actively uses scent marks, leaving the secretion of the peri-tail glands on the branches and trunks of young trees. The animal places such marks in many places in its hunting area, which is up to 10–15 km in diameter. The fox knows its area very well and systematically examines it. In winter, its daily movement averages 8–12 km. This distance includes up to 4 temporary beds where she rests, and about 50 places where she stops and sits down.

The fox deftly climbs steep slopes and swims well. Can climb trees if they are inclined or branch low above the ground. There is a known case when a fox hid from dogs in a bird’s nest located 10 meters above the ground.

Regular migrations are also unusual for the fox, unlike the arctic fox. They are observed only in the tundra, desert and mountains. For example, one of the foxes tagged in the Malozemelskaya tundra was caught 600 km to the southwest. Young dispersing females, leaving the parental burrow, go to a distance of up to 10–15 km. Male fox cubs are prone to longer journeys, moving 30–40 km or more from the parental burrow.
Foxes often move at a small trot, with their hind paws exactly matching the tracks of their front paws and creating a covered trail - the animal seems to be following a thread. The prints stretch in an even chain, only slightly shifting the centers of the right prints to the right of the center line, and the centers of the left ones to the left. The length of steps is 20–40 cm, most often about 30 cm. With this gait, the tracks of foxes are unmistakably different from the tracks of dogs, which never move so smoothly.

Foxes are active mainly at dawn and dusk, but in those places where they are not pursued, they hunt at different times days, and do not show any anxiety at the sight of people. In other cases, the fox is distinguished by extreme caution and an amazing ability, when escaping from pursuit, to confuse its tracks and resort to all sorts of tricks to deceive the dogs.

Reproduction and raising offspring

The fox begins breeding in the middle - end of winter: in the south it is December, in the north it is February. At this time, the animals are very excited and hardly rest; their “weddings” can be seen in broad daylight. It happens that one female is pursued by 5-6 males, who yelp and fight among themselves.

After graduation mating season The animals disperse and begin to live on their own. However, shortly before the birth of the babies, the males again begin to enthusiastically pursue the females and again fight among themselves. It has been noted that fox cubs are not always trained by their real father. Professor P. A. Manteuffel, who observed a lot of foxes in nature, in the zoo and on fur farms, believed that a substance appears in the urine of pregnant foxes, which serves as a causative agent of the paternal instinct in males. This property is very useful for the survival of the species, as it provides fox cubs with the attention and care of both parents.
Before birth expectant mother cleans the hole and spends most of the time in it. When the fox cubs are born, she practically stops leaving the hole, and the fox has to hunt a lot to feed both herself and her. The male leaves the prey at the entrance to the hole, and he is not allowed near the cubs.

From 2 to 12 babies (4–6 on average) are born in the spring blind, with closed ears. The body is covered with short baby fluff of a dark brown color, but the tip of the tail is already white. They grow and develop quickly: at two to three weeks of age, their eyes and ears open, and teeth begin to erupt. The cubs begin to crawl out of the hole, try the “adult” food, and the mother also has to hunt to feed the offspring.

Like wolves, foxes that have small cubs do not hunt near the burrow. There are cases when huntsmen systematically observed a brood of grouse not far from a fox hole, and the birds grew up safely and took wing. Shelduck ducks living in steppe zone, sometimes chicks are safely hatched not just nearby, but in the branches of residential fox holes.

The fox cubs grow, and at the age of one month they already meet their parents at the entrance to the hole, returning from hunting, and play for a long time. Milk feeding lasts 6–7 weeks, at which time the babies begin to try to hunt on their own. From the age of two months, puppies are already weaned from the “home”, moving further and further, showing more and more independence. However, their parents continue to feed them until the end of summer, and the family sticks to their native hole. In the fall, young animals often begin to live independently, but it happens that the entire family remains in the brood hole for the winter.

Some young females begin to reproduce as early as the next year and, in any case, reach sexual maturity by the age of two; males have offspring 1–2 years later.

Lifespan

In captivity, life expectancy is up to 25 years; in the wild, only a few animals live to be 8–10 years old.

Keeping animals at the Moscow Zoo

The foxes live on the Old Zoo grounds in a large enclosure next to the Cat Row, opposite the red wolves. As in nature, animals are more often active in the morning and evening hours, and during the day they sleep, curled up, either in houses or on them. When they are given food, they eat some of it and try to hide the rest. Since there are two foxes, each is afraid that its neighbor will find its hiding place and hides the food many times. Foxes live peacefully among themselves, and if they don’t like something in their partner’s behavior, they urge him to maintain distance with a very characteristic pose. The animal slightly lowers its head, presses its ears, opens its mouth and makes a peculiar sound - something between a whine and a cough. Thus, conflicts, if they occur, are resolved peacefully.

One of the foxes is very shy and rarely leaves the house during the day. The other one is not afraid of people, it can come close to the bars, but do not try to pet or feed it - it might bite.

You can also see a fox in one of the enclosures at the “Fauna of Russia” exhibition. There are also foxes in the visiting section of the zoo. These animals go to lectures in schools, kindergartens, museums, and participate in holidays. These animals are completely tame. But in order for them to become like this, the cubs must fall into the hands of a trainer when they are very young and grow up in constant contact with people. People need to put in a lot of patience so that the animals, when they become adults, have unlimited trust in their “big brothers.”

In the zoo, foxes live for a long time, delighting in winter with their magnificent fur coat, and in summer surprising with their long thin legs and big ears. Their diet is very diverse: from fruits and vegetables to fish and meat.

She is the smallest member of the popular Canidae (or Canidae) family. It is distributed almost all over the world. She, like her relatives - coyotes and jackals - was able to survive despite the harsh onslaught of man. People called her a cunning cheat. Who is she? Of course, a fox!

Who is she?

(or redhead) is carnivorous mammal, belonging to the Canidae family. It is the most common and largest species of the fox genus. The size of these animals does not inspire much fear, since the fox is usually the size of a small dog. Their body length ranges from 60 to 90 cm, and the length of the legendary tail does not exceed 60 cm. The red cheater weighs from 6 to 9 kg.

Where is it common?

Currently, the habitat of this red predator is extensive. The common fox is distributed throughout Europe and Asia, up to southern China, in southern Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Egypt) and in North America, up to the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, this red-haired beast was artificially acclimatized by humans in Australia! Since then, these animals have spread almost everywhere. small continent. We will tell you more about the settlement of certain areas by foxes when we talk about their ecology.

What does she look like?

The common fox, which we will now describe, is a rather elegant creature. Fox fur has always been famous for its beauty, silkiness and reddish-orange tint that plays in the sun. The fox's chest is white, and black “boots” are clearly visible at the ends of its paws. The muzzle, like that of all Canines, is elongated. The clever eyes, similar to those of a cat, give this creature a special charm. Her legendary tail is fluffy and long. It visually increases the size of the fox.

In general, the coloring and size of these predators are completely different; a lot here depends on the habitat of the animal itself. For example, living on northern territories The common fox (photo given in the article) is larger than its counterparts, and its fur is lighter. In turn, closer to the south you can find small foxes with dull fur. However, her most popular color is bright red, it’s not for nothing that she’s nicknamed the red-haired cheat!

What does she eat?

In general, red foxes prefer open meadow areas where they can catch rabbits and even grasshoppers. Their main “menu” is small rodents from the Vole family. It is believed that the population of red foxes largely depends on their number in a particular area. This is especially important in winter: during the cold season, these animals hunt exclusively for foxes; it regulates the number of mouse-like rodents.

Hares are of secondary importance in foxes, but in some cases cheats are deliberately engaged in catching rabbits and hares. During the so-called hare pestilence, foxes can become scavengers and eat their carcasses. Birds play a lesser role in the red-haired beast’s diet, but when the opportunity arises, it will not miss its chance! Foxes love to devastate clutches of bird eggs, kidnap domestic chickens, geese, etc.

By the way, these animals, although they belong to the group, do not disdain plant foods. The common fox happily eats various berries (strawberries, blueberries, cherries), apples and grapes. In times of famine, these animals eat oats, causing significant damage to crops.

How does she hunt?

The main hunt of the common fox is catching voles. This process even got its own name - mouseing. So she mouses for voles: sensing a rodent under the dense snow cover, the animal first begins to carefully listen to its squeaks, jumps and rustles, and then dives under the snow! Sometimes a fox can quickly and deftly throw snow into different sides trying to catch a vole. And she succeeds.

Lifestyle

Typically, red foxes live in pairs, in rare cases - in families. Their home is nothing more than an ordinary hole. They can dig their own holes or occupy someone else’s existing ones (for example, the holes of arctic foxes, badgers, marmots). You won’t find fox dwellings just anywhere: an individual plot must not only provide its inhabitants with a normal amount of food, but also be located in a suitable location. These places most often become all kinds of hillsides or ravines.

Fox holes usually have several entrances leading through long tunnels to the main chamber - the nesting chamber. Often these animals take a fancy to and, accordingly, arrange natural shelters - crevices, hollows, caves. As a rule, these animals do not have permanent homes. They use only temporary shelters during the period of raising their offspring, and the rest of the time they live in open areas where there are a lot of mice. In the wild, these animals live only up to 7 years, but increasingly their life expectancy does not exceed 3 years. It has been noted that in captivity they can easily live for a quarter of a century.

Ecology of the common fox

As mentioned above, the ecology of this red beast is very extensive. The colors of a fox and its size are directly related to the habitat of the animal and certain factors that determine the existence of a fox on certain territories. The red-headed cheater inhabits all landscape-geographical zones in the world with varying densities: tundras, subarctic forests, steppes, deserts, and even mountain ranges in all climatic zones.

Whatever the habitat of the common fox, it still gives preference to open areas and areas with ravines, groves, hills and copses. This is explained by the fact that in winter period The snow cover in such places is not too deep, but loose. This allows foxes to carry out their usual activity - mouseing - without much difficulty. You already know what it is.

The common fox usually leads in most regions globe These animals are not characterized by any migration. Mostly inhabitants of mountains, tundras and deserts migrate. In this case, the young leave the “parental home”, moving up to 30 km from it.

Common fox. Description of subspecies

This species of fox is rich in its various subspecies. In total, there are more than 40 of them. Scientists have calculated that in their diversity of subspecies, these cheats are second only to the ancestor of domestic dogs - the wolf. From time immemorial, the fox has demonstrated an amazing ability to survive. Perhaps it is for this reason that the classification of the common fox is so rich. So, its most popular subspecies are recognized:

• European forest;
• Tobolsk;
• Anadyr;
• Yakut;
• Kamchatka;
• Sakhalin;
• Ussuri;
• Shantarskaya;
• European steppe;
• Azerbaijani;
• Daurian;
• Turkmen;
• Crimean;
• Caucasian;
• Turkestan;
• Armenian

Reproduction

Like their wolf relatives, red foxes are monogamous animals. They reproduce no more than once a year. Moreover, the breeding period and its effectiveness directly depend on the fatness of the animal and on external factors, For example, weather conditions. It often happens that more than 50% of female foxes cannot bear new offspring for years.

Zoologists note that the red fox copes well with its parental responsibilities. For example, males not only actively raise their offspring, but also take care of females. Parent foxes diligently arrange their burrows and, like primates, catch fleas on each other. If one of the parents dies, another individual of the corresponding sex takes its place.

The fox is one of the most common animals in Russia. The habitats of this animal extend from the northern regions to southern deserts and semi-deserts. The fox itself looks like a small dog. She has a beautiful red color, a fluffy tail, small eyes and ears.

Foxes living in the north usually have a red color; to the south, the color of the coat changes to gray-yellow. They exist in nature, and black-brown foxes of this kind are usually raised on farms. The fox weighs about 10 kg.

Mating games in the forest for foxes begin from January to February. Males show readiness for marriage with their abrupt barking, thus calling the fox to them. Sometimes two males start hunting for a fox, then it waits for the winner in this fight.

The fox's gestation period lasts approximately 50 days. Usually ten fox cubs are born; in appearance they resemble small wolf cubs, only the color of the tail gives them a difference.

If all the offspring survive harsh winter, they will live well until the fall, until the little foxes grow up and leave their parents. Of course, a fox’s life in the forest in winter is more difficult than in summer. The fox's diet is quite varied.

About 350 different rodents live in it. Since very little food can be found in the forest. There are no more frogs and there are very few rodents. In winter, the fox hunts especially carefully, just as all mice hide under the snow in their holes. The fox has very excellent hearing, and it is this that helps her hunt.

When going hunting in winter, it behaves quietly and walks slowly in the snow. The fox hides, begins to listen to what is happening under the snow, and as soon as he hears the rustling, his hunt begins. Having caught a mouse, he feasts on it.

Usually she does not swallow food immediately, but tears it into small pieces and swallows it. Also in winter, active hunting is carried out for hares. It spends a long time looking for the hare's hole and begins to guard; as soon as the hare appears outside, active hunting immediately begins.

It starts its hunt at any time. These animals are very careful and it’s not for nothing that Russians folk tales she is always cunning and smart, as she always tries to confuse her tracks.

Today, the fox is one of the most useful animals in the forest. Of course, she destroys a lot of bird nests, but at the same time remains a defender of nature. Since it feeds on beetles, worms and various rodents that harm and agriculture and trees in the forest.

What does a fox eat in the forest? Yes, whatever it takes. Sometimes she manages to feast on black grouse or destroy bird nests and eat their eggs. Of course, the life of a fox directly depends on how many rodents live in nature.

If there is not much food, then she has to go out on the road to people or eat scraps that remain on the side of the road. Sometimes a fox comes to the village to people to look for food, then there, if it bypasses the dogs, it can grab some good prey.

Of course, winter is the harshest period, since finding food is not easy, especially in the taiga. Now there are many protected areas where people feed animals.

The forester who keeps order in the forest also helps the animals survive at this time. In Canada, foxes mainly live along rivers so they hunt salmon fish that emerge after spawning.

The fox usually lives in a hole, since it has small paws with sharp claws, it can quickly make a home for itself. If you look at the fox’s home, you can see a whole house, which consists of several entrances and exits.

They start building it in the spring or summer, so that by winter they already have a place to live. By winter it remains open, only one entrance, the rest have been plugged with moss since the summer, so it is warm for the fox and the little foxes.

This hole can be used by entire generations. This place is located so that the foxes can play near their home. It makes its habitat in open areas so that it can see what is happening around it.

Sometimes a fox occupies someone else's hole. There are also situations when she lives with a badger in the same hole. But such a neighborhood does not last long, the fox is more cunning than the badger and in the end drives him out. She likes the badger hole for its depth and spaciousness. Plus, you don’t need to dig yourself.

A fox in the forest in winter is in a hole with its offspring. The snow lying on top makes the home warmer. Sometimes in winter, for her safety, she lies down on an elevated area in order to see who is below.

There are other places where she can live, such as caves, gorges in the rock, hollows in trees. It is not for nothing that they say about her that she is cunning, since she makes many confusing tracks near her home so that no one can understand where she went.

The fox's tracks somewhat resemble those of a dog, but if you look closely, you can see the difference. For example, if we consider the footprint of a fox, then a match can be placed between the prints of the two outer fingers, but a dog has a more oval-shaped footprint.

Also in winter, the paw pads become overgrown with hair, which makes it possible to move with great caution. Usually the fox's tracks are located in a straight line and the distance between them is 30 cm. Of course, in winter there is a lot of snow in the forest and it is not possible to walk there, since it has short legs and falls through.

Therefore, you have to leave the forest and live in the fields or plains. In winter, the fox attracts hunters with its color, as its red color is visible on the snow surface. After winter, shedding begins and the coat color is not so attractive.

Circumstances arise when she may get sick. Its most powerful enemy is ticks, which move throughout the fox’s body, gradually moving to its nose. It also gets many different diseases from the carrion that it feeds on.

Lisa knows how to adapt to different conditions In life, this is what distinguishes it from all predatory animals. The fox is found not only in Russia, but also in Europe, Asia, North America and everywhere it is the same.

The skin of a fox is a rather valuable trophy, so in winter, foxes should especially fear for their lives. They may be threatened not only by hunger, but also by hunters for profit. The black and brown fox has become especially rare, and they even began to grow it in nurseries.

The fox is one of the most beautiful predators. The color of the skin is red, the tail is long and fluffy, the muzzle is long and narrow, and the eyes are smart and cunning. The fox is the size of a small dog. The color of the red cheater varies from fiery red to gray. In the north, foxes are almost red, in the steppe they are gray-yellow. Silver fox, by the way, is also common fox with some deviations from normal coloring. Black-brown fur is considered the most beautiful. Therefore, silver foxes have been bred on farms for a long time.

The fox lives in Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. This animal adapts well to different climatic conditions. Southern foxes are smaller than northern ones, and besides, northern foxes have thicker and fluffier fur. The fox is an extremely dexterous and playful animal. She runs so fast that it is difficult for dogs to catch up with her. In addition, this is a very cunning animal: it can resort to various tricks, confusing its own tracks or obtaining food for itself.

What does a fox eat? How does a fox hunt?

The fox is an excellent hunter. In addition to observation and intelligence, she has excellent memory, a good sense of smell and remarkably acute hearing. The squeak of a vole, for example, can be heard by a fox 100 meters away. Being a predator, the fox eats a wide variety of animals. She happily eats mice, hares, rabbits, amphibians, and reptiles, digs earthworms out of the ground after rain, and catches fish and crayfish in the river. But the red-haired rogue especially loves to feast on birds. That's why she often looks into chicken coops. By the way, the fox is not at all scared by the human neighborhood, so you can often find a fox hole very close to the village. The fox successfully supplements its meat diet with berries, apples, and vegetables.

Each fox has its own individual feeding area. She jealously protects it from the intrusion of strangers and always knows what is going on near her hole. The fox usually hunts in the evening and at night, although there are exceptions. Some animals prefer to bypass the bedding areas of hares during the day, hunt for birds, and feed exclusively on large game, neglecting mice or frogs.

Despite the fact that the fox will not miss the opportunity to feast on a gaping hare, catch a grouse or destroy a bird's nest, in the forest it brings much more benefit than harm. The main food of foxes remains voles, mice, gophers and other rodents that cause harm to agriculture. And growing fox cubs in large numbers destroy cockchafers - known pests in forest areas.

Mating season for foxes

The mating season for foxes begins in January - February. At this time, the female rushes in search of males, who declare their readiness to marry with a short, abrupt bark. During the rut you can see amazing group: a beautiful female runs in front, and behind her are several males at once. In the end, the males’ patience is exhausted, and it’s time to choose which of them is worthy to take a place next to the female. You can observe fierce fights between males, during which the fox patiently waits on the side of the winner. Only the strongest fox gets the right to mate with a female. At the end of the heat, the foxes scatter to the sides.

Fox cubs

Pregnancy in foxes lasts 51 - 52 days. By the end of this period, the males' paternal instinct awakens. They look for pregnant females and again fight with rival males, this time for the right to stay near the female. From now on, the winner takes on all the hardships family life: helps to dig a hole, feeds the fox at a time when she cannot yet leave the newborns, shares with the female the responsibilities of raising young foxes. Fox cubs usually appear in late April or early May.

They are brown at first and look a lot like puppies, but they all have hallmark- white tip of the tail. The young generation grows up quickly, by the 20th day of life they already begin to crawl out of the hole and feed not on mother’s milk, but on live food. It is not easy for the father of the family to feed his voracious cubs, so the female begins to help in obtaining food. Parents not only bring live mice, birds and small animals into the hole, but also begin to teach their kids the basics of hunting. At first, the fox cubs hunt for May beetles and grasshoppers, but gradually they become accustomed to preying on larger game: voles, lizards, and frogs.

Fox cubs grow quickly, and already in August they are difficult to distinguish from an adult animal from a distance. In November, young foxes begin an independent life and scatter in all directions.

Where does the fox live: habits of the fox. Fox holes

Foxes don't always live in holes. They use these dwellings only when raising offspring, and spend the rest of their time in the open. Foxes have practically no sense of home. They settle where they like, and even then not for long. The fox willingly digs holes near human dwellings; sometimes foxes even wander into big cities. A fox often does not want to dig a hole on its own and uses other people’s homes; for example, a fox greatly respects convenient holes dug by a badger.

A seasoned fox acquires burrows not only to raise offspring in them or to shelter from prolonged bad weather. Burrows often serve as refuge for them in case of danger.

An old fox, as usual, has not one hole where her brood is placed, but several at once, which provide her with a reliable shelter in exceptional cases.

Fox hatching holes are mainly located on the slopes of a ravine, not far from a stream, in the forest thicket, i.e., where people usually do not wander. It happens that a fox returns from year to year to the hole she once dug. Then such “apartments” are constantly expanded, renovated, and acquire several additional “rooms,” which are usually located on 2-3 floors. Hunters are well acquainted with such holes and call them “centuries-old”.

Typically, a fox's hatching hole is equipped with several exits - holes, which allow it to quietly leave its shelter in case of danger. The main snout, which the fox regularly uses to enter and exit, is visible from afar. Usually this is a clean area, sprinkled with sand, which appeared here as a result of many years of cleaning the hole. Here you can often see fox cubs playing.

Shedding period for a fox

By the end of winter, the fox's coat, previously shiny and fluffy, begins to fade and becomes rough. The fox begins a period of molting - its hair falls out, and the animal loses its external attractiveness. Shedding occurs quite quickly, and by May the foxes acquire a new coat - a summer coat. If the fox is sick or thin, the molting period is extended, and then even in June you can see a fox with disheveled winter fur. Summer wool is not valued: it is coarse and sparse, since there is practically no undercoat - with the beginning of autumn the wool begins to thicken. And only with the onset of cold weather does fox fur begin to be considered full-fledged.

Fox hunting. How to hunt a fox

For a fox hunt to be successful, the hunter must learn about all the habits of this cunning animal. In addition, you need to learn how to untangle a fox track and distinguish it from a dog track. For an experienced tracker, a fox's track can tell a lot: about the age and gender of the fox that passed, where the animal was and what it was doing, whether it was hungry or full. The pathfinder reads the tracks, as in open book, and this can only be learned through long-term training.

Compassion as a diagnosis.

Tell me, dear ones, what does compassion indicate? This event happened. Someone threw newborn kittens under the windows, in the heat, as planned, they did not die and screamed for almost a week...

Describing a fox in an artistic or scientific style for children will help them write essays and prepare for the lesson.

Brief description of the fox

The fox is a beautiful animal. Her body is covered with thick red fur. The fox has a luxurious fluffy tail. She has short legs and a sharp muzzle. The fox's eyes are beady and glow with a cunning fire.

She lives in abandoned burrows of gophers and badgers and prefers meadow areas. The fox feeds on mice and hares. The sleepy owner carries chickens.

Chanterelle – excellent swimmer. She runs away from her enemies in zigzags. The fox runs very fast.

The fox is the hero of many fairy tales, where it plays a not very plausible role - stealing chickens, being cunning, hunting birds, etc. In fairy tales she is called a gossip, Patrikeevna, a cheat, a prankster, etc.

Description of the fox for children

The fox likes it everywhere - in the field, in the forest, in the meadow, on the shore of a pond. It is impossible to confuse it with another animal. Well, tell me, who else has such a gorgeous red fur coat and a long fluffy tail with a white spot at the end?

Lisa is a big fashionista. She has two coats - winter and summer. Moreover, the winter one is much warmer: its fur is thicker and longer than that of the summer one.

It is to the credit of the fox that it is distinguished by great intelligence and cunning.
This animal's hearing is excellent. In winter, the fox listens carefully to various sounds and unmistakably determines where the mouse is fiddling around under the snow. The fox immediately shovels away the snow and overtakes its prey. They say that the fox “mouses.”

The fox is a typical predator. In the summer, the fox's diet consists of frogs, small birds, and animals. And if you get into the habit of running to the farm, beware! He will carry hens and cockerels.

The fox, preparing to hatch her cubs, temporarily becomes a real builder. She digs (builds) long, intricate holes with several exits. You never know! But sometimes the fox is lazy. Without building anything, he uses a ready-made hole, the one dug by a badger or some other animal.

Have you heard the fox's voice? She has a sonorous voice, she “yaps.” And if it comes to a fight, the foxes squeal so shrilly that it won’t seem like much. Papa fox and mama fox - caring parents. The male takes care of the female and her cubs.

A story about a fox

Lisa is a real beauty. She has a warm red fur coat. Narrow, curious muzzle. Her ears and paws are black. But the fox is proud of his tail - big, fluffy.

The tail is also red in color, and the tip can be dark or white. When a fox runs or jumps, its tail helps it maintain its balance.

The fox is truly a smart, observant, dexterous and cunning animal. The red-haired “cheat” prefers to live not in a dense forest, but closer to the edge. Or where there are fields, ravines, small copses.

Often a fox lives next to a person - not far from a village or even a city. In order to avoid being seen by humans or relatives - dogs, both dexterity and cunning are required.

An observant fox knows: when a dog sits on a chain, you don’t have to be afraid of it. Let him lie to himself! And she minds her own business. The fox may not pay attention to people working in the field: they have no time for her.

But if she is in danger, the fox, almost stretched out running above the ground, stretching out its fluffy tail, quickly runs away. Catch the fox! Hold it! And there was no trace of her!

Sometimes hunters look for a cheat in forest thickets, along ravines, and it will run into a field sown with tall wheat or oats and hide. Very close to the village where the grief hunters live.

Some are sure that the only thing the fox does is steal chickens. Of course, a fox will not refuse chicken, but this does not happen very often. The fox's main food is mice.

The fox also hunts hares, catches birds, and destroys their nests. Will not refuse beetles and other insects. Will happily swallow a frog, lizard or snake.

The fox loves to eat berries, fruits, and some plants. Patrekeevna has a rich menu.

The fox has good hearing and sense of smell. In winter, the fox “mouses”: it runs across a snow-covered field and listens for a mouse to squeak under the snow. If he hears, he will dig up and grab the prey.

Sometimes he gets so carried away by his prey that he can let him get close to him: the fox’s eyesight is not so good.

A fox digs a hole to breed. But she doesn’t want to work herself, and she often takes over other people’s holes. But he will definitely make several emergency exits: something that never happens in life!

Fox cubs are born blind, deaf and toothless. The fox feeds them with milk. And soon the foxes both see and hear. And their teeth are cutting through.

Grown-up fox cubs do not sit in the hole for a long time. They are interested in exploring the world around us. But as soon as the fox barks, the fox cubs quickly hide in the hole. Or they run to mom.

Foxes do not gather in packs; they prefer to live alone.