- It is the same genre with red fox. The difference of melanin pigments caused darker color in silver fox which can be seen in blackish grey or black
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY Red Foxes have been recorded in habitats as diverse as tundra, desert (though not extreme deserts) and forest, as well as in city centres (including London, Paris, Stockholm, etc.). Natural habitat is dry, mixed landscape, with abundant "edge" of scrub and woodland. They are also abundant on moorlands, mountains (even above the treeline, known to cross alpine passes), sand dunes and farmland from sea level to 4,500 m. In the United Kingdom, they generally prefer mosaic patchworks of scrub, woodland and farmland. Red Foxes flourish particularly well in urban areas. They are most common in residential suburbs consisting of privately owned, low-density housing and are less common where industry, commerce or council rented housing predominates (Harris and Smith 1987). In many habitats, foxes appear to be closely associated with people, even thriving in intensive agricultural areas.
- It feeds both on plants and animals (Omnivore)
Legislation Not listed in CITES Appendices at species level. However, the subspecies griffithi, montana and pusilla (=leucopus) are listed on CITES – Appendix III (India). Widely regarded as a pest and unprotected. Most countries and/or states where trapping or hunting occurs have regulated closed versus open seasons and restrictions on methods of capture. In the European Union, Canada, and the Russian Federation, trapping methods are regulated under an agreement on international trapping standards between these countries, which was signed in 1997. Other countries are signatories to ISO/DIS 10990-5.2 animal (mammal) traps, which specifies standards for trap testing. In Europe and North America, hunting traditions and/or legislation impose closed seasons on fox hunting. In the United Kingdom and a few other European countries, derogation from these provisions allows breeding season culling for pest-control purposes. Here, traditional hunting ethics encouraging restrained "use" may be at odds with harder hitting pest-control ambitions. This apparent conflict between different interest groups is particularly evident in the UK, where fox control patterns are highly regionally variable (Macdonald et al. 2003). In some regions, principal lowland areas where classical mounted hunting operates, limited economic analyses suggest that the principal motive for these communal fox hunts is as a sport – the number killed is small compared with the cost of the hunting. In these regions, most anthropogenic mortality is by individual farmers shooting foxes. The mounted communal hunts do exhibit restraint – hunting takes place for a limited season, and for a prescribed number of days per week. Elsewhere, in upland regions, communal hunting by foot with guns and dogs may make economic sense, depending on the number of lambs lost to foxes (data on this is poor), and also on the current value of lost lambs. This type of fox hunting may also be perceived as a sport by its participants. Presence in protected areas Present in most temperate-subarctic conservation areas. Presence in captivity In addition to fur farms, Red Foxes are widely kept in small wildlife parks and zoos, but there appears to be no systematic data on their breeding success. Being extremely shy they are often poor exhibits.
CLASS : Mammalia
ORDER : Carnivora
FAMILY : Canidae
GENUS : Vulpes
SPECIES : Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Conservation status : Least Concern
- Average lifespan is 10-12 years
- Reach maturity at age 10 months - Gestation lasts 44- 55 days and give birth to average 5 infants each time - Breeding depends on the habitat existing from December to April - Male can mate with many females. Male helps female securing foods while female nursing the infants in the hollow tree
- Weight is between 2.7-6.8 kg
