If you cannot clothe yourself in the skin of a lion, put on that of a fox! Don Diego de la Vega aka Zorro
If you are a Zorro fan, you may recognize the quote. While Don Diego’s advice may be interpreted in a number of ways, I’m going with this: if you can’t be powerful and ferocious, be sly. Reminds me of that television show with Jack Warden, Crazy Like a Fox. Anyway, slyness isn’t the only characteristic associated with foxes. Let’s look at a few more.
A few things you may already know
Animals that are adaptable hang out on the planet longer, and foxes know the ropes, according to Animal Facts Encyclopedia. Some species, red foxes in particular, are able to thrive in urban communities by capitalizing on their nocturnal tendencies. They deserve their reputation for intelligence–that’s related to slyness, yes? Sometimes when they’re hunting and there’s abundant prey, they stock up, burying the extra for a later meal. And they’re also very inquisitive. You can see that behavior exhibited in the video below as a family’s “neighbor” drops by occasionally to hear an impromptu concert. What wild animal does that? Maybe a lot of them and that’s just one more thing I don’t know.
Foxes don’t hunt in packs like wolves; they go it alone. Woodland Trust tells us that while foxes are often chasing rabbits, rodents and birds, they’re glad to eat fruit and berries, too. And, sadly, like our bears in the Smokies, they search for discarded food in garbage cans, too.
I could be going out on a limb here, but I believe most of you would agree that foxes are quite lovely. In fact that may be how some descriptive words for women were adopted decades and decades ago – foxy and vixen. That is, for the sort of women who are really attractive. If you don’t think foxes are attractive, it may be because you have chickens, and foxes really dig henhouses. In fact, according to Middleburg Life’s site, fox hunting initially began to reduce the fox population and preserve the chickens.
And a few you might not
Though foxes are part of the dog family, they are different in a number of ways. For example, they don’t bark. Well, it isn’t the same sound as a dog. You can hear it here: https://youtu.be/iPFTEuT3d4I. Here are some other differences, most provided by Animal Differences.
- Wild foxes only live from 4-10 years.
- They can be domesticated, but they can’t be house-trained. Down with that?
- They also can’t be easily trained to do much of anything else, due at least in part to a short attention span.
- Foxes are social only with their own families; they are shy with humans and generally would not be compatible with other families in a home.
- A fox’s bones are 30% lighter than a dog of about the same size. https://www.animalfactsencyclopedia.com/Fox-facts.html
Apart from the bulleted items, foxes stink. Like lions, they’re best enjoyed from a distance.
Fun Facts & learning opps
And here are a few more tidbits you may not have known about these beautiful creatures:
- There are at least 30 species and the red fox is the largest of those.
- Foxes live in every region of the Northern hemisphere.
- They are the most wide-spread carnivore in the world.
- As mentioned before, they are highly adaptable and are thriving in a variety of environments. Humans took them to Australia, where they have been so successful, they’re considered pests.
- Their vocalizations number up to 20, including nighttime “screams”, coyote-like howls, whimpers, “snuffing” noises, and a happy call that sounds like a human baby crying, again according to Animal Facts Encyclopedia.
There is much to learn from foxes, who are not crazy, by the way. They are adaptable to changing environments and perhaps do it better than we do. Certainly, we can do it, and we do execute that option every time we slightly modify our approach when our audience changes. We don’t use the same tone and perhaps not the same vocabulary with a business associate that we would with a family member. Maybe there are other ways we could improve adaptability and improve our lives. Maybe I need to think about how I can do that.
You?
Good post. Always loved fox. We see a lot of wild life here but only once or twice get a sighting right at dusk. Our mutual first cousin, Patrica, has sightings frequently, sometimes with the cubs. The cubs have no shyness!
I think they’re beautiful, but I don’t get to see them as often as you and our cousin. I’ve never seen a kit, I don’t think. They protect their privacy around here.