Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
If the den is disturbed at any time, or the parents feel that danger threatens, they'll quickly abandon
that den and move their kits to an alternate site, as I once had an opportunity to observe. I was mow-
ing our lower field and suddenly became conscious of two adult foxes that alternately appeared, disap-
peared, then reappeared again. At first I simply attributed their behavior to the habit of following the
mower to pick up mice. After a time, however, I noticed that they seemed quite agitated, though I had
no idea why.
It wasn't until we had baled the hay that I discovered the problem: the foxes had enlarged an old
woodchuck hole in the middle of the field, and were clearly upset by our haying activities. Although
I spent considerable time in concealment, watching the den, I never saw the foxes near it again, and it
became obvious that they had abandoned it almost as soon as I began mowing nearby.
Initially the kits have a grayish coat, but after about five weeks it changes to a rather dull yellowish
brown that usually blends well with the sandy soil around the mouth of the den. Around this time the
kits also begin to eat small prey brought to the den by the parents.
Well before this, at less than four weeks, the kits begin to fight, often quite fiercely. This behavior
continues for a number of days and isn't, as many people think, mere playful roughhousing. Rather, it's
the means of establishing a dominance hierarchy, which has a great deal to do with which kits are fed
first by the parents. If food happens to be particularly scarce, only the more dominant kits may survive,
so this juvenile fighting is serious business.
As the summer wears on, the kits finally lose their brownish-tan color and are attired in the gorgeous
orange-red coat which helps make the red fox, in the opinion of many, our most beautiful mammal. By
this time the kits also begin to accompany their parents on hunting forays, and gradually start to forage
a bit around the den in their parents' absence.
When autumn arrives, the young foxes—no longer kits—are ready and able to fend for themselves.
Then they disperse and seek new territories. No one has determined why young foxes disperse in the
fall, but the young males depart first and travel the farthest in seeking new territory; this, incidentally,
seems typical of many young mammals, and may be a way of preventing inbreeding.
If these dispersing young encounter other foxes with established territories, they're apt to be in deep
trouble. Foxes are highly territorial, and the resident dog fox or vixen will attack the intruder savagely
and without warning. Though the youngster may flee, it may be caught and bitten one or more times
before it manages to escape from the forbidden territory.
At some point a young male and female will enter a vacant territory and will locate each other. In this
fashion another pair of foxes is joined, and the unending cycle that perpetuates the species continues.
In the days when free-ranging poultry were common, foxes had a bad reputation for snatching do-
mestic fowl, as witness the delightful folk song that begins,
The fox went out on a chilly night, and prayed for the moon to give him light.
He had many a mile to go that night, before he reached the town-o.
