Fox Habitat, Identification, Diet & Other Facts

(Vulpes vulpes)
Foxes are fascinating and highly adaptable creatures, well-suited to a variety of environments. Primarily nocturnal, they’re most active at dawn and dusk, and their ability to thrive in both wild and urban settings makes them one of the UK’s most successful mammals.

Fox identification – what do foxes look like?

The European fox, commonly known as the red fox, or simply fox (Vulpes vulpes), is one of the most well-known, widespread, and adaptable carnivores found in Europe. The red fox has a reddish-brown coat with a white underside, black ears, and dense bushy tail with a white tip. Adult foxes weigh between 4.5kg and 10kg and their average length is between 45cm and 90cm excluding the tail, which may add a further 30cm to 50cm to their overall length.

 

The fur can vary in colour, with some individuals showing more greyish patches or even black fur. Key red fox features are their sharp, pointed face, large ears, and keen eyes. The tail, often referred to as a brush, due to its bushiness, is one of its most distinctive features.

How big is a fox?

Adult foxes weigh between 4.5kg – 10kg and their average length is between 70cm to 140cm from nose to tail. It’s worth noting that their tails account for over half their body length.

Red fox reproduction

Foxes typically breed once a year during winter. They are very vocal during this time and can often be mistaken for a child screaming. Copulation is a noisy affair when a pair lock themselves together and this can last from a few minutes up to more than an hour. Pregnancy lasts approximately 49 to 55 days, when female foxes (vixens) give birth to a litter of 2 to 6 cubs. Cubs are born blind and helpless, but after 4-weeks begin to explore outside the den and are ready to be weaned after 6 to 8 weeks. Both parents are involved in raising the young, though the male primarily hunts for food. By late summer young foxes are typically ready to disperse and establish their own territories.

When do foxes mate?

The breeding season for red foxes is during winter, with most breeding taking place from late December to early February.

What is the current UK fox population?

The total UK fox population is estimated at 400,000. Of this about 150,000 foxes live in urban areas, with London’s fox population being around 10,000. The rural fox population is believed to be around 250,000, spread across the whole of the UK.

Annual mammal surveys also show the fox population fluctuates greatly from year to year, as road deaths and disease make considerable impacts on survival rates.

The foxes’ habitat

The natural habitat of red foxes includes woodland, heathland, and farmland. They prefer areas with abundant cover, such as hedgerows, woods, and dense vegetation, and build dens, known as ‘earths’ underground, from which they forage.

Foxes have rapidly adapted to the modern world and have moved into our cities and towns. Often referred to as urban foxes, they build dens or ‘earths’ in brownfield sites, wooded parks, and churchyards. From here they forage from bins and discarded takeaways.

Urban vs Rural Foxes. Foxes are common throughout the UK, found in both rural and urban environments, where they have adapted remarkably well to live alongside humans. Both urban and rural foxes visit gardens to rootle through bins, eat scraps and dig through compost bins. Many people now put out food for foxes and they can frequently be found under sheds and decks using them as artificial dens.

Rural foxes tend to live longer than their urban cousins, suffering less from disease and traffic collisions.

Foxes in your garden

Foxes like all animals need food, water and shelter, and domestic gardens frequently provide one or all of these things. Foxes are not harmful, and we should be able to live peacefully alongside each other. However, it’s worth noting foxes can carry communicable diseases for both pets and humans. Therefore, whether you encourage them, or deter them, make sure contact with pets and especially children is kept to a minimum.

What do foxes eat?

The red fox is an omnivore which means it eats a highly varied diet. Its natural diet is largely made up of small mammals like mice, rats, rabbits, and birds, but they also eat insects, earthworms, fruit, berries, eggs and carrion.

In urban areas, foxes have adapted to scavenge for food, feeding on household scraps, garbage, discarded takeaways, compost heaps and pet food.

Their diet shows marked seasonal variation, for example in autumn foxes will take advantage of the surplus of fruit and berries in gardens and hedgerows, while eggs and baby birds make up more of their diet during springtime.

How long do foxes live for?

Foxes can live for 9-10 years, but rarely make this age in the wild. Foxes living in open countryside live longest, up to 8 years on average. Semi-rural foxes live for 1-3 years, while urban foxes only make 12-18 months on average. The commonest cause of death for our entire fox population is road deaths!

 

Quick Fire Fox FAQ’s

• Are foxes dangerous to humans - foxes are generally shy and avoid human contact. While they are not dangerous to humans, they can carry diseases that may be transmitted to pets or humans.
• Do foxes live in groups - foxes are generally solitary animals. They establish and defend territories, though they may live in small family groups during the breeding season. Urban foxes are showing signs of being more tolerant of one another.
• What predators do foxes have – in the UK red foxes have few natural predators. Humans are the primary threat to foxes through shooting, road accidents, and loss of habitat.
• Do foxes eat rats - yes foxes eat rats as well as other rodents, alongside their very varied diet. 
• Can you keep a fox as a pet - it’s not illegal to keep foxes as pets in the UK and foxes have been domesticated in some instances. However, they do not make good pets as they remain wild animals with those instincts and possess a strong odour, unlike domestic dogs.
• Do red foxes hibernate – no foxes do not hibernate. They remain active throughout the year including during winter.
• What’s the difference between rural and urban foxes – rural foxes will have territories spanning a diameter of 2-5 miles, whereas a typical urban fox territory is as small as a few streets.
• What sounds and noises do foxes make - foxes are known for their wide range of vocalizations, including barks, screams, whines, growls, and howls. During the breeding season police are often called out to reports of screaming at night, only to find mating foxes are the cause!
• Fox colour variations - UK foxes sometimes exhibit melanism where their fur is much darker, appearing almost black. These rare black foxes are often mistaken for other animals. Very rarely, albino (leucistic) foxes appear with pure white coats. More commonly piebald foxes appear with patchy coats  in urban areas.
• Do foxes hide food - Food caching is when foxes store surplus food in shallow holes, covering it with earth or leaves. They return later when food is scarce, using their excellent memory and sense of smell to relocate these hoards.
• How high can foxes jump - Foxes are incredibly agile and can jump over 2 meters (over 6-feet) high. This allows them to easily leap over garden fences to explore new territories and search for food.
• Do foxes smell - foxes have a very distinctive musky scent, which is most noticeable during the breeding season. They also scent mark with urine and through glands located on their tail and feet to communicate with other foxes and mark out their territory.
• Is it OK if foxes come into my garden - foxes can be beneficial to gardens by naturally controlling pests like mice, rats and insects. They help maintain a balance in local ecosystems by preying on species that might otherwise become overabundant and their scent deters rodents from visiting.

 

Do foxes carry diseases?

Foxes like all wild animals are susceptible to a variety of illnesses and diseases. It is therefore better to keep contact with foxes to a minimum as some are transmissible to humans and pets. Here are some of the more common diseases foxes may carry.

1. Sarcoptic Mange
   Caused by a mite, which burrows into the skin, causing intense itching, inflammation, and hair loss. The disease is highly contagious and can spread between foxes through direct contact or shared earths. It can also be transmitted to domestic dogs and, rarely, humans, where it causes a milder form of scabies.
   Foxes with mange exhibit thinning or patchy fur, scabs, thickened skin, and emaciation.
2. Canine Distemper
   Canine distemper is a viral disease that affects a wide range of carnivores, including foxes, dogs, and ferrets. The virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids or via airborne exposure. It is often fatal especially in young animals.
3. Leptospirosis
   Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by *Leptospira*. It affects both animals and humans (zoonotic). The bacteria are transmitted through contact with contaminated water, soil, or the urine of infected animals.
4. Toxoplasmosis
   Is caused by a protozoan parasite more commonly associated with cats, but it also affects foxes. Most foxes show no symptoms. The parasite is typically spread through the consumption of infected prey or contaminated water. It can be transmitted to humans, particularly through contact with contaminated soil or cat faeces.
5. Lungworm
   Is a parasitic infection caused by a nematode. The parasite is transmitted through the ingestion of infected slugs, snails, or frogs. Foxes can act as reservoirs, contributing to the spread of the disease to domestic dogs as well as hedgehogs.