Foxes
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
The red fox is well-known for its rusty-red coat, white-tipped bushy tail, and black legs, ears and nose. In Minnesota, "Reynard" is a fox of several different colors, variations include nearly solid black, silver-black and red bisected by dark bands across the back and shoulders (called a cross fox).
Red fox tend to be solitary animals, and always hunt alone. The fox may be active day and night but appears to hunt most during twilight and evening. It is an opportunist that eats rats and mice, rabbits, ground squirrels, birds, snakes, fish, insects, berries nuts, and seeds. A fox will often hide uneaten food under litter or bury it in a hole to be eaten later.
Red fox mate about mid-winter and the female bears from four to ten pups in early spring. They often den up in woodchuck or badger holes. Dens are usually found in dense woods. Most dens are quite deep--up to 40 feet. The den, however, is little more than a nursery because fox prefer to sleep in the open, even during winter.
The average size of an adult fox is 15 to 16 inches tall at the shoulder and a weight of 10 to 12 pounds. Foxes have an average home range varying from one to four miles. Red fox are extremely adaptable and thrive under a variety of conditions. Common throughout Minnesota, red fox are seen most often resting or trotting in open fields of farm country.
