The red fox had a reputation of being elusive since he hunted mainly at night and especially solitary. It has a sharp intelligence, also cunning, an acute hearing and a great sense of smell. The fox does lead a solitary life mostly. In December, when the mating season starts, he gives three short barks and the vixen answers back with an eerie scream. Cubs are born around the middle of March.

Scientists discovered that they are quite social creatures. The discovery was done with radio-tracking and night-vision equipment.Through these equipment they could study them and their behaviour. Sometimes, a male and female pair were mating and breeding on their own. They also discovered that a dog fox lives with as many as five vixens. This study also showed that younger females are usual from previous breeding season. Young males leave the group and find themselves other females to form a group.

Some young vixens, instead of having young ones themselves, help to bring up the young ones in the group. This helps to bring even more food and gives more protection against predators. The conservationists have not yet discovered about the helpers which did not breed, whether they breed the next season.

Hoarders for lean times

Red foxes bury surplus kills and eggs from ground-nesting birds.

This may explain, when they get into a chicken run why they kill every bird. Their instinct to kill and kill to provide food for lean times. Although they never can take the birds away with them. It is the sheer number of food in front of his nose and easily to kill in comparison to the wild.

It has also been discovered, that foxes secrete their prey. They also have a good memory where they bury their kill.

Streetwise Mr Reynard

You can find or see red foxes in the Cities. During the day it is lying in the shade, in some corner, and watching the going on, while he is resting but always alert. This is a fox which grew up in a city and adapted his habit accordingly. He knows his territory and always looking for food and lodging. He feeds on various leftovers or natural.

They were seen in the most amazing places such as London Tower Bridge and walking along a car assembly line in Oxford. In Bristol it is thought that there are 21 adult foxes per sq mile. In a study it was noticed that they prefer the parks, suburban gardens, playing fields and patches of wasteland.

Small mammels, birds and earthworms are a third of their diet. The rest of it is from human left-overs, compost heaps and rubbish bins where they are in competition from dogs and cats. In late summer and autumn they add to their diet fruit and blackberries.

Naturalists think that foxes went into towns in 1950 when there wasa wipe out of 95 % of the rabbits which is the foxes main food supply. After the rabbit population recovered the foxes did not return to the countryside.