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Fox Hut

Topic

tracking

Foxes are hard to see and easy to track. One walk over soft ground after rain will usually tell you whether a fox uses a field, which line it walks, and roughly when it passed.

These articles cover the signs in order of usefulness: the trail rather than the single print, scat placed deliberately on raised objects, worn runs under fences, and how to tell an active earth from an abandoned one.

What these articles will let you do

  • Separate fox, dog, cat and coyote sign with confidence
  • Judge whether a den is in use before going anywhere near it
  • Build a territory map from four weeks of weekly walks

2 articles on tracking

Tracking: common questions

How do I tell a fox print from a dog print?
A fox print is narrower for its length, with the outer toes set clearly behind the inner pair. The trail is near single file; a loose dog wanders with a wide straddle.
What does fox poo look like?
Twisted, 5–8 cm, tapered to a point, full of fur, bone, insect cases or seeds — and left deliberately on something raised, such as a stump or molehill.
How do I know if a fox den is active?
Fresh spoil, a smooth polished entrance, a strong musky smell and prey remains. Cobwebs and plant growth at the mouth mean it is disused.

Related topics

  • identification

    Telling foxes apart from dogs, cats and coyotes — and from each other — using field marks that work at distance.

  • behaviour

    How foxes actually behave: hunting, territory, social structure, daily rhythms and the reasons behind each.

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.