Foxes.+La+volpe


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 * || THE FOX MORPHOLOGY The fox is similar to a medium-sized dog with a thin body, a pointed muzzle and a long and bushy tail.

CALL
It barks, most of all during the mating season.

TRACKS AND TRACES
The fox leaves footprints similar to medium-sized dog's, 5 cm long, clearly visible in the snow. Its droppings, cylindrical shaped and pointed on only one extremity, are often visible along paths.

MORPHOLOGY
The fur of its upper body is reddish brown while the lower part is lighter. The end of its paws and ears is really dark. In spring, the fox's thick winter fur transforms into a lighter one for the summer months. Among all its teeth, canines are the strongest and most developed.

ECOLOGY
Thanks to its adaptatability, foxes can live in different environments like woods, alpine pastures and urban areas. However, it prefers living where it can find many shelters, lairs and places suitable for mating.

REPRODUCTION
The mating season varies according to different areas. In our region, Aosta Valley, it occurs in winter, between December and February, while the birth occurs between March and April. The female, after a gestation of 7 weeks, gives birth to 3 or 5 pups which are fed by suckling for a month. Then they eat what their mother regurgitates. This is a convenient method because parents don't have to take dead bodies near the lair and pups don't have to go out to look for food. It's important to highlight that every year a fox looks for another partner and the males usually participate in pups' growth providing food and defending them.

DIET
This carnivore behaves like an omnivorous: this means that it changes its diet according to seasons and available prey. Its diet includes little mammals (mice), marmots, hares, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. In case of necessity, it feeds on berries and rubbish too. This species can survive without food for a long time, most of all in winter, because it hides surplus food in holes in the snow, making big provisions.

BEHAVIOUR
The fox accomplishes its normal activities (hunting, mating, pups' care) in a well-defined area called the “home-range”. Borders are highlighted by urine and excrement as symbol of occupation. Every home-range is really different according to prey and territory. Searching for food is one of its biggest activities. The hunt usually occurs at night, beginning at sunset and ending at sunrise. ||