Vulpes vulpes
Least Concern
3-4 years in the wild
12 years in captivity
8-15 lbs
15-18 inches at the shoulder
The red fox thrives in many diverse habitats like woodlands, grasslands, and even urban areas. The red fox can be found all across Eurasia, as well as most of North America and some parts of North Africa. The red fox has also been introduced to Australia, where it is considered an invasive species
Red Foxes mainly eat small rodents, rabbits, game birds, small reptiles, invertebrates, and sometimes even young goats or sheep if they are easily accessible. Fruit and vegetable matter is also a small portion of a red fox’s diet, but they don’t eat them as often.
Red foxes can run nearly 30 mph!
Red foxes come in four main colors in the wild: red, silver, cross, and albino
Due to fur farms and hobby breeders, there are now over 7o red fox color morphs
Red foxes have whiskers on both their face and legs to help them navigate
It is thought that red foxes use the Earth’s magnetic field to hunt prey
Red foxes can identify each other’s voices and have been found to make 12 different sounds
Apart from their size, a red fox is distinguished from other fox species by it’s ability to adapt quickly to new environments. Because of this, red foxes are a very wide spread species.
In the wild, red foxes will usually live together in pairs or small family groups in underground dens. These fox dens can be between one to eight feet underground, and up to 56 feet long with multiple entrances and exits.
Sadly red foxes normally have short lives in the wild, with the majority normally living three to four years. The predators of the red fox include coyotes, gray wolves, eagles, bears, mountain lions. However the main predators of the red fox are humans.