Fox
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225969819
2008-07-16T07:09:00Z
Ckatz
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/121.45.121.188|121.45.121.188]] to last version by Bob98133 (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]])
{{Refimprove|date=May 2007}}
{{Taxobox
| name = Fox
| image = Vulpes vulpes.jpg
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammalia]]
| ordo = [[Carnivora]]
| familia = [[Canidae]]
| species = '''See text.'''
}}
{{otheruses1|the animal}}
'''Fox''' is a name applied to any of roughly 27 [[species]] of small to medium-sized [[Canidae|canids]], characterized by possessing a long, narrow [[snout]], and a bushy [[tail]], or "brush". By far the most common and widespread species of fox is the [[red fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes''), although various species are found on almost every continent. The presence of fox-like [[Carnivora|carnivores]] all over the globe has led to their appearance in the [[popular culture]] and [[folklore]] of many nations, tribes, and other cultural groups (see [[Foxes in culture]]). Foxes can be good pets
==Etymology==
{{Wiktionarypar|fox}}
The Modern [[English language|English]] "fox" is derived from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''fox''. The Old English word itself comes from the [[Proto-Germanic]] word ''*fukh'' – compare [[German language|German]] ''Fuchs'', [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''fauho'', [[Old Norse]] ''foa'' and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''vos''. It corresponds to the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] word ''*puke'' meaning "tail" (compare [[Sanskrit]] ''puccha'', also "tail"). The bushy tail is also the source of the word for fox in [[Welsh language|Welsh]]: ''llwynog'', from ''llwyn'', "bush",{{Fact|date=November 2007}}<!-- Ref claims this derivation, but gives no explanation of why it is "bushy tail", not "animal of bushes". Need fuller ref. --> [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]: ''uodegis'', from ''uodega'', "tail", and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''raposa'', from ''rabo'', "tail". <ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=dance&searchmode=none&p=2 The Online Etymology Dictionary, retrieved June 8th 2008: headword "Fox"]</ref>
==General characteristics==
[[Image:Rød ræv (Vulpes vulpes).jpg|thumb|right|[[Red fox]]]]
[[Image:Alopex lagopus coiled up in snow.jpg|thumb|right|[[Arctic fox]] coiled up in snow]]
[[Image:FoxSkelLyd1.png|thumb|200px|Skeleton]]
Most foxes live 2 to 3 years, but they can survive for up to 10 years or even longer in captivity. Foxes are generally smaller than other members of the family ''[[Canidae]]'' such as [[Gray Wolf|wolves]], [[jackal]]s, and domestic [[dog]]s. Dogs (male foxes) weigh on average, 5.9kg and vixens (female foxes) weigh less, at 5.2kg (13 lbs and 11.5 lbs, respectively). Fox-like features typically include an acute muzzle (a "fox face") and bushy tail. Other physical characteristics vary according to their habitat. For example, the [[fennec fox]] (and other species of foxes adapted to life in the desert, such as the [[kit fox]]) has large ears and short fur, whereas the [[Arctic fox]] has small ears and thick, insulating fur.
Another example is the [[red fox]] which has a typical [[auburn (color)|auburn]] [[fur|pelt]], the tail normally ending with white [[animal markings|marking]].
Unlike many canids, foxes are usually not pack animals. Typically, they are solitary, opportunistic feeders that hunt live prey (especially [[rodent]]s). Using a pouncing technique practiced from an early age, they are usually able to kill their prey quickly. Foxes also gather a wide variety of other foods ranging from [[grasshopper]]s to [[fruit]] and [[berry|berries]].
Foxes are normally extremely wary of humans and are not kept as pets (with the exception of the [[fennec fox|fennec]]); however, the [[Tame Silver Fox|silver fox]] was successfully [[domesticated]] in Russia after a 45 year selective breeding program. This selective breeding also resulted in physical and behavioural traits appearing that are frequently seen in domestic cats, dogs, and other animals: pigmentation changes, floppy ears, and curly tails. <ref>[http://reactor-core.org/taming-foxes.html Early Canid Domestication: The Fox Farm Experiment]</ref>
==Classification==
Canids commonly known as foxes include members of the following genera:
* ''[[Arctic fox|Alopex]]'' -- Arctic fox, sometimes included with the "true" foxes in genus ''Vulpes''.
* ''[[Crab-eating Fox|Cerdocyon]]'' -- Crab-eating fox
* [[Maned Wolf|''Chrysocyon'']] -- Maned wolf (in [[English language|English]]), ''aguara guazú'' ("big fox" in [[Guarani language|Guarani]]) and ''zorro rojizo'' ("reddish fox", one of several names used by [[Spanish language|Spanish]] speakers).
* ''[[Falkland Island Fox|Dusicyon]]'' -- Falkland Island fox
* ''[[Hoary Fox|Lycalopex]]'' -- Hoary fox
* ''[[Bat-eared Fox|Otocyon]]'' -- Bat-eared fox
* ''[[Pseudalopex]]'' -- Four [[South America]]n species, including the [[culpeo]].
* ''[[Urocyon]]'' -- [[Gray fox]], [[Island Fox|island fox]] and [[Cozumel fox]]
* ''[[Vulpes]]'' -- Including the ten or so species of true ("[[Canidae#Classification and relationship|vulpine]]") foxes, including the red fox, ''V. vulpes'', [[Tibetan Fox|Tibetan fox]], ''Vulpes ferrilata'', and their closest kin.
==Diet==
The diet of foxes comprises [[rodents]], [[insect]]s, [[worm]]s, [[fruit]], [[fish]], [[birds]], [[Egg (food)|egg]]s, and all other kinds of small animals. The fox generally consumes around 1 kg of food every day. Foxes that live in neighborhoods mainly depend on household waste and even rodents and birds that keep moving around these areas. Foxes are known to cache their food, burying the excess for later consumption.
They mostly thrive in the higher latitudes, suburban and even urban environments both in Europe and in North America. They are found also in [[Eurasia]], [[North Africa]], [[India]] ([[Ladakh]], [[Himalayas]], [[Jammu]] and [[Kashmir]], [[Rajasthan]] and [[Gujarat]]), [[China]], [[Japan]] and in [[Australia]].
==Conservation==
[[Image:FoxInHighPark.JPG|right|thumb|An especially thin urban fox in [[High Park]], Toronto.]]
Foxes are readily found in cities and cultivated areas and (depending upon species) seem to adapt reasonably well to human presence.
[[Red fox]]es have been introduced into [[Australia]] and some other countries for hunting. Australia lacks similar carnivores, and the introduced foxes prey on native wildlife, some to the point of [[extinction]]. A similar introduction occurred in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in temperate North America, where European reds (''Vulpes vulpes'') were brought to the colonies for fox hunting, where they decimated the American red fox population through more aggressive hunting and breeding. Interbreeding with American reds, traits of the European red eventually pervaded the gene pool, leaving European and American foxes now virtually identical.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
Other fox species do not adapt as well as the red fox, and are [[endangered species|endangered]] in their native environments. Key among these are the crab-eating fox ([[Cerdocyon thous]]) and the African bat-eared fox. Other foxes such as [[fennec]]s, are not endangered, but will be if humans encroach further into their habitat.
Foxes have been successfully employed to control pests on fruit [[farm]]s, where they leave the fruit intact.<ref>[http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/press/foxes.html Foxes on Fruit Farms<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Historians believe foxes were imported into non-native environments long before the colonial era. The first example of the introduction of the fox into a new habitat by humans seems to be [[Neolithic]] [[history of Cyprus|Cyprus]]. Stone carvings representing foxes have been found in the early settlement of [[Göbekli Tepe]] in eastern [[Turkey]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
* [[Fox hunting]]
==External links==
{{commons|Fox}}
*[http://www.thefoxwebsite.org/ The fox website]
*[http://www.vulpes.org/foxden/sounds/index.htm Fox sound files.]
*[http://www.angelfire.com/ar2/thefoxden/sounds.html More fox sound files.]
*[http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/fox/pubs/fox.pdf Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage fact sheet, 2004]
[[Category:Foxes| ]]
[[ar:ثعلب]]
[[an:Raboso]]
[[ast:Raposu]]
[[gn:Aguara]]
[[ay:Qamaqi]]
[[br:Louarn]]
[[bg:Лисица]]
[[cs:Liška (říše živočichů)]]
[[cy:Llwynog]]
[[da:Ræv]]
[[pdc:Fux]]
[[de:Fuchs (Säugetier)]]
[[nv:Maʼéé]]
[[es:Vulpini]]
[[eo:Vulpo]]
[[eu:Azeri]]
[[fa:روباه]]
[[fr:Renard]]
[[gd:Sionnach]]
[[got:𐍆𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍉]]
[[ko:여우]]
[[hr:Lisica]]
[[id:Rubah]]
[[is:Refir]]
[[ka:მელა]]
[[ku:Rûvî (ajal)]]
[[hu:Rókák]]
[[ml:കുറുക്കന്]]
[[ja:キツネ]]
[[pl:Lis]]
[[pt:Raposa]]
[[ro:Vulpe]]
[[simple:Fox]]
[[sr:Лисица]]
[[sv:Rävar]]
[[ta:நரி]]
[[th:หมาจิ้งจอก]]
[[chr:ᏧᎳ]]
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[[wa:Rinåd]]
[[zh:狐狸]]