Hybrid foxes have been a hot topic on the internet for years, but are they real? And if so, what exactly are they?
Dogxim the "Fox/Dog Hybrid"
If you google hybrid fox, the first six articles refer to the recently discovered Dogxim that was discovered in Brazil in 2021. And while Dogxim was an amazing discovery, she was not truly fox/dog hybrid.
In reality, Dogxim was a hybridization of a Pampas fox and a domestic dog. Although they have “fox” in the name, pampas foxes are not true foxes. In fact, they are far more closely related to dogs than our 13 species of true fox.
Are Hybrid Foxes Real?
Yes, hybrid foxes are real and are the offspring of two different species of fox. The only types of hybrid foxes known to exist are hybrids between the red fox and the arctic fox. Hybrid foxes generally have an arctic fox mother and a red fox father. Because red foxes mate in the spring and arctic foxes mate in the summer, hybrid foxes can’t occur naturally and can only be created via artificial insemination.
This is a photo of Everest, a real hybrid fox that lives at Exotic Pet Wonderland. Everest is a hybrid between a red fox and an arctic fox.
Why are Hybrid Foxes Created?
Hybrids between arctic foxes and red foxes are created for two reasons: more luxurious coats and for novelty purposes.
Fur farmers originally created hybrid foxes to have animals with more desirable coats. Arctic foxes have a thicker, softer coat, but are smaller and only naturally occur in shades of white and gray. Meanwhile, red foxes come in a large variety of colors and are the largest fox species, however they don’t have the same coat texture as arctic foxes. For this reason, fur farmers created a hybrid between the two species to have larger, more colorful animals with luxurious coats.
Very few farmers and pet breeders create hybrid foxes anymore though, because of the expense and difficulty required to do so. A few years ago, a pet breeder created a litter of hybrid foxes for novelty purposes to sell as pets. One of these hybrid foxes did end up at Exotic Pet Wonderland as a rescue just weeks after he was sold.
Do Hybrid Foxes Make Good Pets?
For the vast majority of people, foxes of all species make bad pets. However, hybrid foxes are known for having worse attitudes than either of the species they were created from. Because while hybrids between arctic foxes and red foxes get all of the wonderful coat traits, they also inherit all of the negative personality traits from both parents.
What is an "Arctic Marble" Fox?
Arctic marble foxes are commonly mistaken as hybrids between red foxes and arctic foxes. In reality, “arctic marble foxes” are not hybrids or related to the arctic fox at all.
“Arctic marble” is just a color morph of the red species fox. The unique color of the marble fox was caused by selective breeding of the red fox, not any sort of hybridization. However, many ill-informed fox breeders and keepers mistakenly believe these foxes are hybrids. They aren’t.
