Index Home Join IPCC

On the Fox's Trail

The fox is the most adaptable and enterprising Irish mammal. Not so long ago the idea of city foxes would have seemed ridiculous, but there are now many cases of foxes seen at dustbins and in gardens, even in the centre of cities. Railway lines are a favourite location for foxes; they provide a quiet route for travelling with many possibilities of food along the way.

The fox is a member of the dog family and has an overall dog-like appearance, with a brownish-red coat and a bushy tail tipped with white. The underside and much of the face is white.

Fox by Don Conroy

The fox is acutely aware of its surroundings: it has a strong sense of smell and its pointed ears are sensitive scanners. It is, however, unlikely to spot you if you keep perfectly still. The eyes are better adapted for night vision and nocturnal hunting.

Foxes are found in most types of habitat from cities through to boglands. They live successfully in these varied places by adapting to local conditions.

Territories and travelling
The size of a fox's territory varies from as little as 25 - 50 acres to well over 250 acres. The resident foxes sometimes live in pairs, but a single fox can sometimes join with several vixens to form a larger group when food is plentiful and harassment by man is infrequent.

At night the foxes travel around their territory in search of food. They travel independently, and not in packs. Foxes with territories live longer than those without a territory. This is because they are hunting in their home range which is familiar to them, and are unlikely to be trapped by man. Foxes live for up to 4 years in territories.

Foxes that do not have a territory of their own (usually young dogs), travel large distances. Not only do they trespass on the territories of resident foxes, but they are also often the victims of the huntsman and his hounds because they are travelling across unfamiliar territory. Traps and snares also catch them unawares.

Fox-talk
Foxes have a wide vocabulary of noises, and each call can be made with a variety of pitches. Foxes make noises throughout the year, but reach their peak in mid-winter.

Each call probably serves several functions. It may enable the caller to identify itself and its position, or communicate with other members of the caller's group - its neighbours and rivals, offspring and mates. There are four types of fox calls. The call most often heard is the 'wow-wow-wow'. A second type is the screech - also known as the vixen's scream, although dog foxes also make this noise. It is thought that vixens make this call to attract males.

The other noises are made when the foxes are in contact. One is called gekkering, or clikketing, a mechanical staccato noise which sounds similar to the clicking noise made by a football supporters rattle. Often interspersed with gekkering is a collection of whines and whimpers which can be heard when foxes greet each other. Foxes never growl or snarl.

Running fox by Don Conroy

Finding foxes
Although they cloak their movements in darkness, foxes leave plenty of signs for the sleuth.

Smell
The most obvious is the rather acrid smell of urine which occasionally hangs above a woodland path or glade and can normally be traced to a tussock of vegetation, which may be topped with fresh droppings. These droppings are generally left on top of open sites, as they are part of the fox's scent-marking vocabulary. They can be distinguished from those of dogs by the rather sweeter smell, the obvious presence of bone chips, insect shells, traces of beetles, fur and feathers and sometimes by curly pointed ends.
Footprints
Footprints can best be followed in snow. The edges of puddles, bog pools, bare peat or ditches, however, can also yield clues. The fox's footprint is oval, about 6 cm (2 inches) long and 4 cm (1.5 inches) wide (depending on the softness of the mud or peat); dog tracks are rounder. The two front claws of the forefeet normally leave pin-prick impressions close together, where dogs' claws would be more spread out. The tracks of some dogs, particularly sheepdogs, can be very fox-like. A trotting fox travels in a straight line and in snow leaves tracks stretching out like a necklace.

Breeding
The fox den ("earth") is usually a hole in the ground beneath rocks or tree roots. In Ireland mating is in January and the first half of February, the young being born from late February to the end of March. The gestation period is 51 to 53 days. A litter of four or five is most common; it is rarely more than seven. The cubs differ from the adults in having chocolate-brown coats when born, and short muzzles.

Although blind at first, they emerge from the earth for the first time after four weeks, when they begin to take solid food. They are cared for by both parents until at least early June. At this time the grass around the earth is flattened or worn away by the cubs playing on it and is often littered with the remains of former meals. Cubs are practically full-grown in seven months.

Catherine O'Connell