5 min read
What Is a Group of Foxes Called? Skulk, Leash and the Rest
A group of foxes is a skulk or a leash — and a family group is properly a 'troop'. Where the words come from, and why you so rarely see one.
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Topic
red fox
Nearly everything on this site is, at bottom, about *Vulpes vulpes*: a 5–8 kg omnivore that lives from Arctic tundra to city centre and has out-competed larger predators across four continents by being flexible about almost everything.
These articles are the core of Fox Hut. They cover what a red fox looks like and how big it really is, what it eats through the year, how long it lives, what kills it, and the sounds and signs it leaves behind.
What these articles will let you do
- Identify a red fox confidently from a three-second sighting
- Put a number on the things people usually guess: weight, speed, lifespan, litter size
- Follow one animal's year, from midwinter mating to autumn dispersal
24 articles on red fox
5 min read
What Does a Fox Look Like? Field Marks That Actually Work
White tail tip, black ear backs, black stockings and a low slung body. How to recognise a fox at a glance and tell it from a dog, cat or coyote.
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5 min read
Do Foxes Mate for Life? What the Evidence Actually Shows
Foxes are socially monogamous within a season and often re-pair year after year — but DNA studies show cubs in one litter can have more than one father.
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4 min read
Where Do Foxes Live? Habitat, Range and What They Need
Foxes live on every continent except Antarctica, in tundra, desert, forest, farmland and city centre. What a fox actually needs from a habitat.
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5 min read
What Colour Is a Fox? Red, Silver, Cross and Everything Between
Red foxes are not always red. A guide to the colour morphs — red, cross, silver, black, leucistic — and what actually stays constant.
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4 min read
What Eats a Fox? Predators of an Animal That Is Usually the Predator
Eagles, wolves, coyotes, bears, lynx and big dogs all kill foxes — but the biggest killer by far is traffic. What actually threatens a fox.
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4 min read
How Big Is a Fox? Real Weights, and Why They Look Bigger
An adult red fox weighs 5–8 kg — about the same as a large house cat. Sizes for every fox species, and why people consistently overestimate them.
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4 min read
How Fast Can a Fox Run? Speed, Stamina and the Vertical Jump
A red fox tops out near 45 km/h (28 mph) in a short sprint, jumps two metres and swims well. How fox speed compares with dogs, coyotes and people.
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4 min read
When Is Fox Mating Season? The Winter Calendar Explained
Fox mating season runs from late December to February in temperate regions. Why the screaming starts, how long foxes are pregnant, and when cubs arrive.
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4 min read
Are Foxes Endangered? The Threats That Actually Matter
Red foxes are thriving, but Darwin's fox, the island fox and Fennoscandia's Arctic foxes are not. What threatens foxes, species by species.
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5 min read
Do Foxes Have a Good Sense of Smell? Yes — But Hearing Wins
A fox's nose is far better than ours and it smells buried food metres away. But hearing, not scent, drives most fox hunting. How fox senses rank.
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4 min read
Are Foxes Carnivores or Omnivores? The Technical Answer
Foxes are classified in the order Carnivora but eat like omnivores — meat, insects, earthworms and a great deal of fruit. Why both labels are used.
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4 min read
How Long Do Foxes Live? Wild, Urban and Captive Lifespans
Most wild foxes live two to four years and many die in their first. Why the average is so low, and why captive foxes reach their mid-teens.
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4 min read
Fox vs Coyote: How to Tell Them Apart, and How They Interact
Coyotes are two to three times heavier than red foxes, grizzled grey with black-tipped tails. How to identify each, and why coyotes push foxes into suburbs.
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4 min read
Do Foxes Eat Squirrels? Yes, But Less Often Than You'd Think
Foxes will kill and eat squirrels, but squirrels are hard to catch and rarely a major part of the diet. What foxes really take, and when squirrels are vulnerable.
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5 min read
Do Foxes Eat Deer? Fawns, Carrion and the Limits of a 6 kg Predator
Foxes cannot kill an adult deer, but they do take newborn fawns and scavenge carcasses heavily in winter. What deer remains in fox scat really mean.
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4 min read
Do Foxes Travel in Packs? How Fox Society Actually Works
Foxes hold territories in family groups but hunt alone. Why they never form packs, what a group of foxes really is, and when you'll see several together.
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4 min read
Do Foxes Hibernate? No — Here's How They Get Through Winter
Foxes stay active all winter. Thicker coats, cached food, carrion and a switch to rodents under snow get them through — and midwinter is their breeding season.
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4 min read
The Life Cycle of a Fox, From Birth to Dispersal
A fox's life in five stages: birth, den life, weaning, independence and dispersal. What happens at each stage and how many animals survive it.
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5 min read
What Does It Mean to See a Fox at Night? Folklore and Reality
Foxes carry meaning in Japanese, Celtic, Native American and European traditions. What the symbolism says — and the far more interesting biological answer.
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6 min read
Fox Cubs: The First Year, Month by Month
From a 100 g blind cub in March to a dispersing adult in November. What happens in a fox's first year, and what to do if you find a cub alone.
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4 min read
Urban Foxes: How They Live in Our Cities
City foxes hold smaller territories, sleep above ground and are slowly changing shape. What urban life does to a fox, and how to live alongside one.
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5 min read
Fox Sounds Explained: The Scream, the Bark and the Gekker
That scream in the night is almost certainly a fox. A guide to the main fox vocalisations, what each one means, and when in the year you will hear them.
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6 min read
The Red Fox: A Complete Field Guide to Vulpes vulpes
How to identify, understand and observe the red fox — size, range, senses, hunting behaviour and the field marks that separate it from look-alikes.
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Red fox: common questions
- How big is a red fox really?
- Five to eight kilograms — about a large house cat, on longer legs. Winter fur adds bulk without mass, which is why nearly everyone guesses double.
- How long do red foxes live?
- Two to four years in the wild, with more than half of all cubs dying in their first year. In captivity, where traffic and disease are absent, twelve to fourteen years is normal.
- What is the fastest way to identify one?
- The white tail tip, then the black ear backs, then the low, long silhouette with the tail carried straight out behind.
Related topics
behaviour
How foxes actually behave: hunting, territory, social structure, daily rhythms and the reasons behind each.
identification
Telling foxes apart from dogs, cats and coyotes — and from each other — using field marks that work at distance.
cubs
Fox cubs from birth to dispersal — and what to do, or not do, when you find one alone.
Not what you were looking for? Browse every topic or all articles, and if the answer you need is missing, tell us — reader questions are where most of these articles started.