Fox Information

For fox trapping information, visit the Fish and Wildlife website.

Where Foxes Live
  • Found in all parts of Canada.
  • Lives in a burrow that was dug by another animal
  • May dig a tunnel of its own in loose soil
  • Dens may also be under buildings
  • Can have more than 1 entrance
  • Grass and leaves line the den
  • Might have more than 1 den for a family
A fox in a grass field
Family
  • Male is a dog, female is a vixen, young are pups
  • Belong to the same family as the dog, gray wolf and coyote
Appearance
  • Small slender mammal
  • Pointy nose and pointy ears.
  • Body length is 100 to 112 cm. including tail
  • White throat and underbody
  • Legs have black paws with white "socks"
  • Long bushy tail, white at the tip
  • Beautiful fur is reddish or sandy in colour
  • Fur can also be brownish, black or silvery
Eating Habits & Hunting
  • Hunts for rabbits, hares, lemmings, squirrels and mice
  • Also eats birds, eggs, insects and snakes
  • Buries food
  • Very good sense of hearing
  • Picks up sounds of small animals in the grass, underground or under the snow (fox in the snow)
  • Keen sense of smell , can locate a nest of eggs
  • Hunts from dusk to dawn
  • Also raids chicken coops on farms
Enemies & Protection
  • Wolves, lynxes, fishers, bobcats, cougars and coyotes hunt it
  • Trapped for its beautiful fur
  • It runs along logs, doubles back or wades in water so hunters cannot follow its scent
  • Warns others with a sharp bark
  • Foxes living near people are hit by cars
  • Average life span is 3 to 5 years in the wild
  • Some may live over 10 years
Offspring
  • female (vixen) has 4 or 5 pups in the spring.
  • up to 10 pups could be in a litter
  • male brings food to the vixen so she can stay with the pups.
  • in a month pups can eat meat
  • family stays together till fall
  • by winter the young are on their own
  • many foxes die before they are 1 year old
A group of fox pups hiding behind a log
Other Facts
  • a group is called a "skulk"
  • foxes can carry a disease called "rabies" (a bite spreads the disease)
  • stories are written about the fox's cleverness and trickery
  • Other species of foxes are gray fox, swift fox, kit fox, arctic fox and fennec fox