Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
- Several residents have seen foxes on Cowbar over the years – usually at dusk or very early in the morning. A few years ago a couple of fox cubs were spotted playing on the old railway embankment.
- We thought we had identified fox poo – or scat- on the footpath and grassland. Then in July 2022, our trail cameras picked up a few cautious night visits from at least one fox. It was very wary of the camera but at least once it paused to snaffle up some pumpkin seeds left out to encourage other wildlife.
- The red fox is native to the UK and has lived here for up to 352,000 years.
- Red foxes live in a burrow system called an ‘earth’. They scent-mark their territorial borders with urine, creating a very strong, recognisable odour. They also have scent glands on their feet to mark well-used trails so they can follow them easily at night.
- Foxes have a reputation in many cultures for being intelligent, cunning and sometimes sinister.
- They can sniff out prey which is up to three feet underground and hear a watch ticking at 60 feet. They use long sensory whiskers called vibrissae on their faces and legs to feel their way in the dark and it’s possible they use the earth’s magnetic field to estimate distances from their prey before pouncing.
- They can climb trees and run at about 50 km/hr.
- Foxes like to build their dens by water so it is possible they like closer to the beck and come up to Cowbar to hunt. Foxes will eat small mammals, birds, frogs, worms, beetles, berries and fruit.
- They are known as ‘apex predators’ which means they are high up on the food chain and will take any convenient beast, including lambs and fawns.
- The red fox is the only wild member of the dog family in the UK. A male fox, called a dog, makes a barking noise whereas the females, called vixens make a spine-chilling scream sound.
- Foxes can make around 28 different sounds. Despite this, they are a mostly silent animal; calling is largely during the winter breeding season.
- They also communicate with each other using facial expressions, body postures and scent markings.
- The name ‘fox’ is from the Proto-Germanic, meaning ‘tail’.
- They live in loose family groups. Although they often compete with badgers for food, fox families have been known to live alongside badgers in badger setts.
- In spring, the female will give birth to a litter of cubs in an underground den. Normally, four or five cubs will be born and they will be cared for by both the male and female.
Fox cubs are born deaf, blind and dependent on their mother’s milk, like domestic dog puppies. The cubs start eating solid food at around four weeks old and are usually completely weaned by the time they are 12 weeks of age.
