Wildlife Watch: Red Foxes
Introduction
Red foxes are common visitors to our gardens, especially in urban areas. They are known for their orange-red fur, white throat, belly, and chin, and white-tipped tail. Foxes are exceptional scavengers and eat a variety of foods, including carrion, earthworms, and berries. This has helped them become successful at living among humans.
Fox Behavior
Foxes are known for taking pet rabbits and chickens, as well as raiding bins. They may also dig holes, nest under sheds, and flatten plants when playing. This behavior can cause conflict with humans.
Fox Mating and Reproduction
Mating takes place in January and February. The female fox issues a blood-curdling shriek and the male responds with a “hup-hup-hup” call. Females give birth to up to seven pups, which are born brown or gray and usually turn red within a month. Both parents care for the pups until the following autumn, when the young foxes establish their own territories.
Fox Territories
Fox territories can be as small as 0.2 square kilometers in urban areas or up to 40 square kilometers in rural areas. Each territory is occupied by a family group, typically consisting of a male fox, a female fox, and their cubs. However, in areas with a good food supply, a family group may contain several adults.
Helping Foxes
Foxes in urban areas may not always have a balanced diet, which can increase their risk of getting mange, a parasitic infection that causes intense itching and hair loss. You can help foxes by feeding them protein-rich foods like whole hard-boiled eggs (in the shell) or chicken. You can also buy mange treatment and add it to peanut butter sandwiches if you are certain the same mange-infested fox will visit each night.
Other ways to help foxes include being more tolerant of them in your garden. Respect their need for space and territory and understand that they may sometimes dig holes and make a mess.
Deterring Foxes
If you are not keen on having foxes in your garden, there are steps you can take to deter them. These include:
- Preventing access to your garden
- Using humane deterrents, such as motion-activated water sprays
- Making your garden fox-proof
Fox-Proofing Your Garden
To fox-proof your garden, you can:
- Avoid placing breakable items where they can be knocked over
- Anchor items to the ground
- Avoid using bone, fish, or blood meal in planting holes
- Never leave shoes or Wellington boots out at night
Living with Foxes
We all have to share our land with wild animals. By understanding each other’s needs, we can become better neighbors with those we sometimes find it hard to live with. Perhaps taking time to sit and watch the fox cubs playing could be the first step to learning to love those you share your garden with.
