There is said to be over 37 species of foxes, 12 of which are said to be the true type which belong to the Vulpes genus. They have different physical features like fur colour but all belong to the same family.
They are natives of Britain and a well known wild animal in the UK.
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Foxes are members of the dog family and distant relatives of wolves. A male fox is called a "Fox" ,"Tod" or "Reynards" and a female fox is called a "Vixen". A group of foxes are called a "Skulk" or a "Leash". Fox babies are called Pups, Cubs or Kits. They are a little bit bigger than cats.
Foxes have whiskers on their legs and face that helps them in navigation. Their gestation period is generally between 50 to 70 days.
They were domesticated as an experiment in the Russian Academy of Sciences in the 1950' s
and the foxes at Novosibirsk, Russia are the only ones domesticated in the world.
Foxes have incredible hearing, they can hear a watch ticking from 40 yards away and can run 30 miles per hour. They along with their incredible hearing hunt their prey using the Earth's magnetic field.
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They have a musty, sickly scent that comes from the base of their tails. They are extremely playful and are perceived as cunning creatures.
They use over 28 different calls to communicate with each other and can live upto 14 years.
They can produce upto 40 variety of sounds and their scream like howl is the most noticeable one.
The 12 true types are the Red fox, Arctic fox, Fennec fox, Pale fox, Bengal fox, Blanfords fox, Cape fox, Corsac fox, Kit fox, Ruppell's fox, Tibetan sand fox and Swift fox. They are generally classified by their upright triangular ears and triangular snout.
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Red fox is the most widely spread species around the world. They hunt small mammals, some insects, vegetation and fruits. They shed some guard hair during spring to withstand warm temperatures which changes it's colour and have different colour morphs. They can be found in all northern regions in the world and also in central Africa, America and Asia. Gestation period is 49 to 58 days.
image credits: BBC news
Arctic foxes are monogamous and mate for life. They are found in the arctic regions that include Iceland, Eurasia, North America, and Greenland. Their diet mainly consists of lemmings and small mammals like rodents. They have two colour morphs, the white arctic and the blue arctic and their gestation period is 52 days.
image credits: National Geographic
The Fennec fox is generally found in the deserts of Africa and are the smallest among the other fox species. They have large ears that help them to hear their prey, escape from predators and regulate their body temperatures. They thrive in desert regions and their diet mainly consists of silkworms, scorpions and reptiles. Their gestation period lasts for 50 to 52 days.
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The Pale fox is another kind of desert foxes that live in the northern regions of Africa such as Somalia and Sudan. They are small to medium sized that are tan with some hints of pepper and salt colour and their gestation period is 51 to 53 days. They sometimes have a black ring around their eyes. They mostly eat small mammals, rodents, lizards, eggs, birds and insects. They are mostly confused with Fennec foxes as they are both similar to each other.
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The Blanfords fox is a desert fox that live in Israel, parts of Afghanistan and other middle eastern countries. They are similar to the Fennec fox in size and shape but are a little bigger. Their ears are big like their desert cousins and their diet mainly consists of insects like grasshoppers and beetles, fruits and small mammals like rodents. Their gestation period is 57 days.
image credits: National Geographic
The Cape fox is also a desert fox that lives in the Saharan parts of Africa that are the only kind to live under the equator in Africa. They stay away from forests and are grey in colour with salt and pepper tones. They eat small mammals like rodents, rabbits, birds, select vegetables and fruits along with roots and tubes. They mate during spring and are monogamous. They are nocturnal and the male and female fox forage separately. Their gestation period is 53 days.
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The Corsac fox is a desert fox that lives in central Asia and parts of the middle east. They prefer taking over other animals burrows and turn it into their dens. They are middle sized, smaller than red foxes but bigger than the other desert foxes. They have large ears and legs.
They are grey in colour with red hints. They eat small mammals, mostly rodents, some insects, pikas, birds and eggs. They can climb well but can't run very fast due to their large legs. Their gestation period is 57 days.
image credits: REDDIT
The Tibetan Sand fox are desert foxes found in India, China and Tibet. They come in few different colours, some black with red tints and yellow colouring. They are monogamous that mate for life and hunt in pairs. They share their kills and hunt on small birds, rabbits and rodents. They also eat pikas and eggs. Their gestation period lasts for over 54 days.
image credits: Montana Field Guide
The Swift fox is a desert fox that live in the plains of Western Canada, deserts of North America, areas of Southern America and certain parts of Texas. They are found in large numbers in New Mexico and Kansas. They are small foxes with the male being a bit bigger than the females and the gestation period is 54 days. They are light grey coloured with sandy undertones. They are nocturnal and very fast for foxes. They eat small mammals, vegetation, fruit, fish, whatever food is available according to the season.
image credits: Pinterest
The Bengal fox also known as the Indian fox lives in India, Nepal and Pakistan. They are middle sized with pale fur. They have large bushy tails with black black tips that make up a large part of their whole length. They are solitary hunters and hunt on cloudy days and night. They mate once a year and are semi-tame. They mostly feed on insects, small birds, eggs and reptiles. They also eat field mice and seasonal fruits. Their gestation period is 52 days.
image credits: OREGON CONSERVATIVE STRATEGY
The Kit fox is a desert fox that lives in the southwestern parts of the United States. They also live in Mexico and thrive in regions like scrubs and grasslands. They breed once a year and are monogamous. Their gestation period is 49 to 55 days. They mostly eat rabbits, rodents, cactus fruit, jackrabbits, prairie dogs, select fruits and are also known to eat tomatoes.
image credits: Wikipedia
The Ruppell's fox is also a desert fox found in many places like North Africa , Jordan and Israel. They have sandy tan coloured fur and and grey morphs. They are smaller than red foxes and stay away from them. They are forced to share a territory with red foxes that results in moving to more extreme desert areas due to competition. Their diet consists of rodents, vegetation and whatever is available. As they are forced to live in harsh conditions, they feed on roots, insects, lizards when rodents are unavailable. Their gestation period is 52 to 53 days.
Some of the fox species that don't fall in the true type are:
Bat eared fox
Island fox
Darwin's fox
Crab-eating fox
Gray fox
Hoary fox
Hybrid fox
The Gray fox is said to be the most common one among the others.
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