Box 2: Ecology of the red fox
Distribution and conservation status: The red fox has the
largest geographical range of all members of the order Carnivora. It is
widespread throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to
southern North America, Europe, North Africa, the Asian steppes, India
and Japan. Introduced populations also persist in Australia where they
have caused significant damage to native ecosystems. The species is
listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (Hoffmann &
Sillero-Zubiri 2021).
Ecology: Red foxes can be found in habitats as diverse as
tundra, deserts, mountains (up to 4,500 m), forests, and urban areas.
Foxes are opportunistic omnivores and scavengers with highly plastic
diets that vary according to the availability of food resources. Their
diet may consist of mammals (voles, rabbits, young hares, or lambs),
ground-nesting birds, poultry, invertebrates, fruit, and food waste, to
varying degrees. Females become sexually mature around 10 months old and
generally give birth to a litter of 4-6 young per year. Red fox
densities vary widely, from as low as 0.02 ind/km² in rural areas (Meia
1994), up to 30 ind/km² in urban areas where there is an oversupply of
food (Harris & Rayner 1986). It can be solitary at low densities but
also forms social groups (Macdonald 1981).
Main threats and management actions: Threats to this species
from humans include habitat degradation, loss and fragmentation in
certain areas, exploitation, and persecution (Hoffmann & Sillero-Zubiri
2021). Hunting and trapping are widespread in most areas, with large
kill bags. Hunting is mostly seen as sport, while trapping and
regulatory shooting aim to reduce population size and depredation, but
there is increasing debate about whether fox control is achieving its
goals. While no longer considered a concern, red fox have historically
been impacted by vulpine rabies epidemics.