Fox fox: description, photo, classification

She is the smallest member of the popular family of Dogs (or Dogs). It is distributed almost all over the world. She, like her relatives - coyotes and jackals - was able to survive, despite the severe onslaught of man. The people called her a cunning cheat. Who is she? Of course, a fox!

Who is she?

Fox (or red) is a carnivorous mammal belonging to the Psov family. It is the most common and largest species of the genus foxes. The size of these animals does not inspire much fear, because the size of a fox is usually a small dog. The length of their body varies from 60 to 90 cm, and the length of the legendary tail does not exceed 60 cm. The red cheat weighs from 6 to 9 kg.

Where is it common?

Currently, the habitat of this red-headed predator is extensive. Fox common throughout Europe and Asia, up to southern China, southern Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Egypt) and North America, up to the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, this redhead was artificially acclimatized by a man in Australia! Since then, these animals have spread almost throughout the small continent. More details about the settlement of foxes of certain localities will be told when we talk about their ecology.

How does she look?

The fox is ordinary, the description of which we will now give is a pretty elegant creature. Fox fur at all times was famous for its beauty, silky and a tawny orange tint playing in the sun. The fox's breast is white, and black "boots" are clearly visible at the ends of the paws. Muzzle, like all Dogs, is elongated. Special charm to this creation is given by clever eyes, similar to cat's eyes. Its legendary tail is furry and long. He visually increases the fox in size.

In general, the color and size of these predators are completely different, a lot depends on the habitat of the animal itself. For example, an ordinary fox living in the northern territories (the photo is shown in the article) is larger than its counterparts, and its fur is lighter. In turn, closer to the south, you can meet small foxes with tarnished fur. Nevertheless, the most popular color is bright red, because it's not for nothing that she was nicknamed a red cheat!

What does she eat?

Basically red foxes prefer open meadow areas where it is possible to catch mice, voles, rabbits and even grasshoppers. Their main "menu" is small rodents from the Polevkov family. There is an opinion that the population of red foxes depends to a large extent on their number in one or another locality. This is especially important in winter: during the cold season these animals hunt exclusively for voles. The common fox regulates the number of mouse rodents.

Hares are of secondary importance in the fox food chain , but in some cases the cheats deliberately catch rabbits and hunt. During the so-called rabbit hare, foxes can become scavengers and eat their corpses. Birds play a lesser role in feeding the redhead, but on occasion, it will not miss its chance! They like foxes to devastate masonry of bird eggs, kidnap domestic chickens, geese, etc.

Incidentally, these animals, although belong to a predatory squad, do not disdain vegetative fodder. Fox fox eats with pleasure various berries (strawberries, blueberries, cherries), apples and grapes. In hungry times, these animals eat oats, causing significant damage to crops.

How does she hunt?

The main hunting of the common fox is the catching of voles. This process even got its name - mousing. Here she mows the vole: having scented under a dense snow cover of a rodent, the beast first begins to listen attentively to his squeaks, jumps and rustles, and then dives under the snow! Sometimes a fox can quickly and deftly throw snow in different directions, trying to catch a voles. And she succeeds.

Lifestyle

Usually red foxes live in pairs, in rare cases - by families. Their dwelling is nothing but an ordinary burrow. They can independently dig their own burrows or occupy someone else's available (for example, burrows of arctic foxes, badgers, marmots). Fossil dwellings can not be found anywhere: an individual site should not only provide its inhabitants with a normal amount of food, but also be located in a suitable place. These places are often all kinds of slopes of hills or ravines.

Foxholes usually have several entrances leading through long tunnels to the main chamber - the nesting place. Often, these animals are fond of and, accordingly, arrange natural shelters - crevices, hollows, caves. As a rule, there are no permanent dwellings for these animals. They use only temporary shelters during the upbringing of their offspring, and the rest of the time they live in open areas where there are a lot of mice. In the wild, these animals survive only up to 7 years, but more often their life span does not exceed 3 years. It is noticed that in captivity they can easily live a quarter of a century.

Ecology of the fox ordinary

As already mentioned above, the ecology of this redhead is very extensive. Fox foxes and their sizes are directly related to the habitat of the beast and some factors that determine the existence of the fox in certain areas. The red cheat with varying density populates all the landscape and geographical zones in the world: tundra, subarctic forests, steppes, deserts, and even mountain ranges in all climatic zones.

Whatever the habitat of the fox is common, it prefers it to open areas and areas with ravines, groves, hills and copses. This is due to the fact that in winter the snow cover in such places is not too deep, but it is loose. This allows the foxes to easily do their usual thing - mouse-clicking. You already know what it is.

Fox, as a rule, leads a sedentary life. In most regions of the globe, these animals are not characterized by any migration. Migrants mainly live in mountains, tundras and deserts. Young in this case leaves the "parental home", moving for distances up to 30 km from it.

The fox is ordinary. Description of subspecies

This species of fox is rich in its various subspecies. A total of more than 40. Scientists have calculated that their variety of subspecies, these cheats are second only to the ancestor of domestic dogs - the wolf. From time immemorial, the fox showed an amazing ability to survive. Perhaps, for this reason, the classification of the fox is so rich. So, the most popular her subspecies are recognized:

• European forest;
• Tobolskaya;
• Anadyr;
• The Yakut;
• Kamchatka;
• Sakhalin;
• Ussurian;
• Shantar;
• European steppe;
• Azerbaijani;
• The Daurian;
• Turkmen;
• Crimean;
• Caucasian;
• Turkestan;
• Armenian.

Reproduction

Like their wolf congeners, red foxes are monogamous animals. They multiply not more than once a year. In this case, the breeding season and its effectiveness directly depend on the fatness of the beast and on external factors, for example, weather conditions. Often happens and such that more than 50% of fox females for years can not bring a new offspring.

Zoologists note that the red fox copes well with its parental responsibilities. For example, males not only actively educate their offspring, but also take care of females. Fox-parents diligently beautify their burrows and, like primates, catch fleas on each other. If one of the parents dies, another person of the corresponding sex takes his place.