Page 24 - World of Animals - Issue #39

50 fox facts

“ Just as your dog loves tennis balls,
foxes seem to have developed a

fascination with golf balls”

25. Mange and 28. The fennec
canine distemper fox wears
are big fox-killers snowshoes
The most prolific disease in the UK that In the midday heat of the desert, sand

foxes are susceptible to is mange. It can feel like lava and the fennec fox
spreads through the population with has found a way to overcome this.
relative ease causing the fur to fall out Paws lined with thick fur allow the
and the skin to be covered with mites. little fox to walk across the sand
In other parts of the world, foxes are without fear of burning its feet.
threatened by canine distemper, a The fur also keeps them warm when
virus that causes gastrointestinal the temperatures in the desert
failure and respiratory problems. It is suddenly drop at night.
fatal in almost all cases and spreads
between all dog species. 29. Foxes are
26. Fox hunting is friendly and
illegal in the UK, curious, and they
sort of love golf balls
Foxes are curious and love to play,
Fox hunting was banned in Scotland in which can be a sign of intelligence.
2002, and England and Wales followed When they are young, they wrestle
suit in 2004 (although this wasn’t
enforced until 2005). Traditionally a each other to the ground and chase
pack of foxes were used to hunt and each other’s tails playfully. Just as
your dog loves tennis balls, foxes
kill a fox, whereas the 2005 law states seem to have developed a fascination
no more than two dogs can be used to with golf balls and red foxes around
flush a fox from its den. The fox must the world have been caught sneaking

then be shot by the hunter and not onto golf courses at night and making
killed by the dogs.

off with a ball or two.
27. There’s no 30. We don’t
such thing as an know if the swift
urban fox fox and kit fox are
We hear about urban foxes all the
time; however they aren’t a separate different species
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23. The fox actually comes from the species. It is just the name given to a Some consider the swiŠ fox and the kit
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same family as your pet dog fox that visits urban areas from time fox as two subspecies but there isn’t
to time and most of these animals
enough evidence to conclusively say
Foxes belong to the Canidae family, a carnivorous group that includes wolves, jackals, also spend time in rural settings. It is this. Some scientists refer to them
dingoes, and domestic dogs. The canine family is divided into two groups: those probably more accurate to call them as the same species, whereas others
related to wolves (Canini) and those related to foxes (Vulpini). Your pet dog is a direct suburban foxes, but it’s not as catchy. prefer to consider them separately.
descendent of the grey wolf, but is still a close relative of the fox.
24. Foxes use public toilets 31. Pale foxes

Some foxes such as kit foxes, swi foxes and Arctic foxes went under
defecate in latrines. For foxes this is a hole dug in the
ground for other local foxes to do their business in. the radar
It really is a mark of how intelligent these animals for quite
are when you think about it. Humans started
using toilets to keep the street clean and to some time
reduce the spread of disease, and animals It wasn’t until 2012 that pale
like foxes use communal latrines for the foxes were properly assessed
same purpose. Not all foxes do this and by the International Union for the
species that are susceptible to predation Conservation of Nature. Because
avoid visiting latrines. It can make them of their elusive and nocturnal

more vulnerable, as predators on the nature they are diffi cult to track
lookout will know where to find them as down, follow and study. They

they can see where they have been from also have sandy coats to match
their faeces and can follow the scent of their habitat, making them very
their urine to track them down. diffi cult to spot in the wild.

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