Foxes are one of the most prevalent animals in our society as they feature in cities, towns, and rural environments. By some, they are viewed as a beautiful animal and by others as a pest. Despite this, most people don’t know a lot about foxes. Read on to find out some amazing facts.
Foxes are part of the same family as dogs, wolfs and jackals yet their behavior resembles the cat the most. As with cats, they are more active after the sun goes down, climb trees, have whiskers, and more. Foxes are not pack animals, either. They prefer to hunt and sleep alone. Although solitary they are very caring to their young. Foxes have on average around six pups a year and will go to great lengths to keep them safe.
There are nearly 300 species of the fox with the red fox the most common. In some areas it is so overpopulated that it is treated as a pest, however, fox hunting continues to come under scrutiny for its cruelty. The fennec fox is the smallest fox in existence about the size of a small puppy. It is found in the Sahara desert. On the other extreme of the world is found the arctic fox. The arctic fox is incredibly resilient to cold environments and will only start to feel a chill at -70 degrees celsius.
If you wanted to own a fox as a pet, it is possible. Going into the wild and capturing a fox is not a good idea (you would likely catch some horrible disease) but some species of fox have been domesticated for years. A pet fox that is domesticated could set you back about $9,000.
Foxes appear to have a pretty bad reputation in some places of the world yet when looked at in isolation they are a gorgeous creature. If we could control their population they could be a welcome part of our natural habitat.
