The sport of fox hunting is still controversial today.
But the bigger controversy is whether or not a fox is related to a cat or a dog.
If you love foxes, The Fox and the Hound is a pretty good movie – it’s basically how two different animals become friends, until the fox is discriminated against because the farmer wants to kill the fox.
So without further ado, here are 15 fascinating facts about foxes!
Most species of foxes are lone wolves. They hunt and sleep alone, but when they’re raising their young, the live in underground burrows.
If foxes are together, it’s called a “leash” or a “skulk” of foxes.
Even though foxes are related to wolves, jackals and dogs, they have more in common to cats. They’re most active at night, as they use their vertical pupils to see in the dark while stalking and pouncing on its prey like a cat. They also have whiskers and retractable claws.
Speaking of whiskers, they have some on their legs. This helps them with their bearings, especially when it’s dark outside.
Besides whiskers on their legs, foxes also use Earth’s magnetic field to hunt their prey. Foxes leap up and pounce on their prey. They can leap in any direction, but they’re more likely to jump towards the northeast, where 72 of their attacks were successful.
If you can’t decide on having cat or a dog, you can have a fox as a pet.
Some foxes can hear objects that are 40 yards (36.5 meters) away.
Watch out: foxes can run up to 45 miles per hour (72 km/hour), making them one of the fastest animals in the world!
Even if you encounter a wild fox, they probably won’t eat you. Their omnivorous diet mainly consists of small rodents, small mammals, vegetation and birds.
Female foxes are pregnant for only 53 days, making women everywhere jealous of their gestation period.
Foxes can survive in the wild for about three years. In captivity, some foxes can live up to ten years.
Foxes are also prey to certain larger animals: eagles, coyotes, gray wolves, bears and mountain lions.
Because of their awesome fur, Arctic foxes can withstand temperatures as low as negative-70 degrees Celsius. That’s when the poor fellas start shivering.
Most foxes are like medium-sized dogs, with the biggest foxes weighing 24 pounds (11 kilograms) and measuring 34 inches (86 cm) without its tail.
What does the fox say? There are at least 40 different voices the fox can uses, but the most common is their scream.
