What Eats a Fox? Predators of an Animal That Is Usually the Predator

A red fox is a mid-sized carnivore, which is an awkward place to sit. It is big enough to be a competitor to larger predators and small enough to be killed by them, and the result is that most of the animals that kill foxes are not eating them.

The predators, by region#

Coyotes: the important one#

Across most of the United States and southern Canada, the coyote is the dominant influence on red fox numbers and distribution. Coyotes are two to three times heavier, and where coyote density is high, fox density falls — foxes shift their territories into the gaps between coyote ranges, which in practice often means closer to human settlement. Some researchers argue this is one reason foxes are so successful in North American suburbs: it is the one place coyotes are thinner on the ground.

This is interference competition, not predation. A coyote that kills a fox usually leaves the carcass. The point is the removal of a competitor, not a meal. Details of the size and behaviour differences are in fox vs coyote.

Eagles and owls#

Golden eagles are the most capable avian predator of foxes and take cubs and juveniles regularly in open upland country. In Fennoscandia, eagle predation on Arctic fox cubs is significant enough to feature in conservation planning. Eagle owls and great horned owls take small cubs at earths. Adults are rarely at risk from birds; a healthy adult fox is a difficult, dangerous target.

What actually kills foxes#

Predation is a footnote in fox mortality statistics. The real causes, in rough order across studied populations:

1. Vehicles. The leading cause of death in most temperate populations, concentrated in the autumn dispersal period when inexperienced juveniles cross unfamiliar roads.
2. Human control. Shooting, snaring and lamping remain major mortality sources in rural landscapes.
3. Disease. Sarcoptic mange in particular has crashed urban populations by 90% or more; distemper and rabies matter regionally. See mange in foxes.
4. Starvation. Chiefly in first-year animals during their first winter.
5. Intraspecific aggression. Territorial disputes with other foxes, especially during dispersal.
6. Predation. Present everywhere, dominant nowhere.

How foxes avoid being eaten#

Foxes manage risk by being crepuscular and nocturnal where they are persecuted, by holding multiple lying-up spots rather than one, by keeping cubs underground for their most vulnerable weeks, and by simply running: a fox can reach about 45 km/h and turn far more sharply than anything chasing it, as covered in how fast can a fox run.

Fox cubs are the vulnerable stage, which is why vixens move litters between earths at the first sign of disturbance — and why standing over a den to look for cubs is an actively harmful thing to do.

Mesopredator release, and why it matters#

Foxes sit in the middle of the food chain, and what happens to them when the animals above are removed has a name: mesopredator release. Where wolves and large cats were exterminated across Europe and North America, mid-sized predators including foxes expanded in numbers and range, with knock-on effects on the ground-nesting birds and small mammals they eat.

This is one of the strongest arguments made for large-carnivore restoration, and it cuts both ways for foxes: wolf and lynx recovery in parts of Europe suppresses fox numbers, while coyote expansion in North America does the same. It also means fox abundance is often a symptom of a landscape missing its top predators rather than a problem in its own right — context worth keeping in mind alongside are foxes endangered.