![]() ![]() Red foxes live in extremely varied habitats, from urban centers to rural wilderness. High-pitched screams in the night that are often attributed to fisher cats are actually often noises from foxes. With the onset of spring, red foxes shed their winter fur and prepare for warmer weather.įoxes are members of the canid, or dog, family, which includes wolves and coyotes. Many times, they can be found completely blanketed in snow. An adult fox rarely retreats to a den during the winter, but will instead curl into a ball in the open, using its bushy tail to wrap around its nose and footpads. Males will travel up to 150 miles away, while females tend to stay closer to home.ĭuring the cold New England winters, red foxes stay warm by growing a long winter coat. Families stay together in the dens until the kits disperse at seven months old (usually early fall). One main maternity den is established, with a number of emergency dens prepared by the females. Females have a gestation period of roughly 50 days and give birth to a litter of 1 to 10 kits (or pups) between March and May. Red foxes attract each other with series of nocturnal barking. When foxes are full, they continue to hunt and store extra food in small burrows in snow, leaves and soft dirt.Īdult red foxes are usually solitary until mating season, which runs from January until early March in New Hampshire. Red foxes are cat-like when stalking prey, and their powerful legs allow them to reach speeds of 45 miles per hour. They also feed on invertebrates, such as grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars and crayfish. Red foxes hunt primarily at night, feeding on vegetation in the summer, including corn, berries, apples, cherries, grapes, acorns and grasses, and on birds and small mammals during the winter. Red foxes are often characterized as being cunning and in nature, because they exercise extreme caution and learn from experience quickly.
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