Red Fox

NPS Photo/ Jacob W. Frank

Scientific Name

Vulpes vulpes

Identification

• 10-11 lbs
• Can have several color phases though are usually red fur with white-tipped tail and with dark legs
• Have a slender, long snout

Range and Habitat

The red fox is well known for its adaptability, leading it to colonize a variety of habitats from tundras to deserts. Because of this adaptability, they can be found throughout the continental United States, though are less likely to live in the drier southwest.

They prefer locations with mixed vegetation such as scrubland, the forest edge, and wetlands. The Missouri River corridor provides plenty of these habitats with its prairies, riparian forests, and backwaters.

Diet

Red foxes are omnivorous although most of their diet is made of rabbits and mice. They are also known to eat poultry, squirrels, muskrats, quail, small nongame birds, insects, nuts and fruits in small amounts.

Fun Facts

• There are 45 subspecies of red foxes, with 9 of those living in North America.
• Red foxes are the largest of the "true fox" species but are still relatively small compared to domestic dogs and coyotes.
• They have extraordinary hearing that helps them hunt for rodents. They can hear low-frequency sounds like a rodent's nibbling and high-frequency sounds like a mouse's squeak.
• Red foxes are decent swimmers and have been spotted on some of the public river islands along the MNRR.

 

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