Science & Nature
THE TRULY FANTASTIC FOX Alex Hennessy, Communications and Marketing Officer, Dorset Wildlife Trust
A
s you drift off to sleep on a winter’s evening, a sudden piercing screech might wake you with a start. As alarming as it may be, this could well be the sound of one of Britain’s most well-known and widespread wildlife species – the red fox. It’s likely that you’ve seen red foxes roaming residential streets in the evenings, darting in and out of driveways or even trotting along footpaths with confidence. Foxes are resourceful animals and thrive in many different urban and rural habitats, including towns, cities, woodland and heathland. In fact, they occupy a top spot in the woodland food chain. Urban foxes can sometimes be found rummaging in bins for scraps to eat, so you may not be surprised to learn that they are unfussy eaters. Their preferred diet consists of birds, some insects such as worms and beetles, frogs and small mammals as well as berries and fruit, but if they can access food scraps in rubbish easily, they will tuck in. Their adaptation to urban environments when needed is just one example of their famous resourcefulness and intelligence at work. Red foxes are known for being cunning and stealthy, a trait which likely helps them to dodge urban and rural dangers such as traffic. One far less stealthy fox characteristic is their unmistakeable wailing scream. These sounds are made by the female foxes (‘vixens’), while male foxes (‘dogs’) make a sound more akin to a dog barking. The conspicuous noises are most likely to be heard during their mating season in midwinter, however for the most part foxes are quiet and much of their communication is achieved through scent. These might be transmitted using their scent glands or their urine, which foxes use to mark their territory. The red fox is a social animal, living with family groups in burrow systems called ‘earths’. One family may have more than one of these dens within their territory, and earths are typically home to a dog, a vixen, cubs and some subordinate foxes such as females from previous litters that stay with the family, helping rear cubs.
Fox facts: • The fox is Dorset’s only wild member of the dog family. • Foxes have a lifespan of two to four years. • Foxes have scent glands on their feet which mark well-used areas so they can find their way more easily at night.
To help support wildlife where you live, join Dorset Wildlife Trust as a member. Visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk. 42 | Sherborne Times | February 2021
