Foxes seem to be everywhere, the genus Vulpes also known as
the trues foxes are made up of 12 different species. Between these 12 species
they have ranges which cover, Europe, North and central Africa, Asia, Australia
and the Arctic.
The Fox with the most extensive range is Vulpes vulpes or the red fox and it can be found nearly across the entire Northern Hemisphere
and also as an invasive species across the majority of Australia where it was
introduced in the 1830s for fox hunting. A sport which originated in England in
the 16th
century and has been outlawed in the UK since 2005, however this ban it is
possibly coming up for review within the UK in the next few years.
the red fox and it can
be found nearly across the entire Northern Hemisphere and also as an invasive
species across the majority of Australia where it was introduced in the 1830s
for fox hunting. A sport which originated in England in the 16
The Red fox is a very successful species and is an omnivore
with its natural diet consisting of invertebrates, small mammals such as mice
and rabbits and some plant matter such as berries. This isn’t the diet the
majority of the Red Foxes consist on now, as they have adapted to become very
successful in the urban environment. In fact in the UK for instance there are
now more foxes found in built up areas. A study in 2014 showing that there are >30
fox sightings per 1000people km−2 (link 1 will give you more information on how
the distribution of Red foxes has shifted towards urban areas).
Although the foxes in the Vulpes genus have very similar
morphology there are difference and certain adaptations which allow them to
excel in their own environments. For instance the Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus) are slightly smaller
which gives them a smaller surface area to volume ratio than the red fox to
reduce heat loss and a counter current circulatory system to prevent cold blood
flowing back towards vital organs by heat transfer between blood moving from
the core out and blood moving from the surface in. The coat is thicker and
multi-layered, also during the malt each spring the coat colour changes from
white to a browner colour to aid in camouflage. While the Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) which are found across
North Africa in the Sahara, possess a thin coat and larger ears to help radiate
excess heat.
The Arctic fox and others have amazing abilities which allow
them to hunt without using their vision. The majority of the species have
extremely keen sense of hearing which allows them to hunt effectively in complete
darkness or in the case of the Arctic fox prey which is hidden below a layer of
snow. The Artic fox is able to triangulate prey items such as lemmings and
voles which are surviving the winter in tunnels below the snow and then it
pounces, diving through the snow and catching it.
An interesting study has been taking place in Russia for
over 50 years now; it is based on an experiment which is looking into how
wolves became domesticated into modern day dogs. It uses a sub species of Vulpes vulpes know as the Silver fox or marketed
as a Siberian fox, yes that’s right you are now able to buy one of the
descendants of the original test subjects and keep them as a pet. The study was
set up by Dmitri Belyaev, and takes Silver foxes and breeds them for the
selection a passive nature, while the other half of the study was breed for
aggression. If you are interested follow the link below (2) to read more. I
suggest you do if you’ve got the time.
The Red fox is causing havoc in Australia as they are
suitable adapted to survive the in the habitat Australia provides and their
population is running wild just like rabbits and the cane toad. They are
predated by native animals such as dingoes but this is doing little to control
the population expansion due to the decline of dingoes. They are threatening
ground-nesting birds, mammals such as the greater Bilby and the bridled
nail-tail wallaby and reptiles. Australia is currently attempting to control
the red foxes numbers by trapping and poisoning using 1080 toxin, and work is
currently being undertaken to develop an alternative toxin to 1080 which is
less harmful to non-target animals. This culling may be seen as unnecessary by
some of you however there are many native species suffering and some of them
being pushed close to extinction by invasive species like the Red Fox and also
feral cats and dogs.
Link 2
Thanks for reading
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