--- title: "Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "Fluffy white-tipped tail, a pounce that may be aimed using Earth's magnetic field, and an omnivore's habit of eating whatever is available." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/red-fox-1.webp" published: "2026-09-01" updated: "2026-09-14" --- # Red Fox (*Vulpes vulpes*) > **Status**: Checked against 10 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: Fluffy white-tipped tail, a pounce that may be aimed using Earth's magnetic field, and an omnivore's habit of eating whatever is available. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Dance-Punk & Electroclash // The Ting Tings, "That's Not My Name" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/1gt1fWqUZOUgT2kTArAw4E) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1c2OfAzDTI) > **Vibe Match**: Swaggering distorted basslines and sharp, witty vocal hooks for a hunter that stands motionless listening for a mouse, then leaps high and brings its front paws straight down to pin it. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Vulpes vulpes* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Least Concern ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-1.rlts.t23062a223595579.en)) - **Superpower**: When a red fox hunts under snow or in tall grass, its successful pounces are tightly clustered to the north, while leaps in other directions mostly miss. - **Habitat**: Forests, tundra, deserts, farmland, suburbs, and cities across much of the Northern Hemisphere, plus introduced populations in Australia - **Diet**: Mostly rodents, rabbits, insects, and fruit, plus birds and carrion; extra food is cached when hunting is good - **Tags**: canid, arctic-tundra, woodland ## Natural History & Behavior ## The Fox's Northward Pounce The red fox (*Vulpes vulpes*) has a head and body about 46 to 90 centimeters long, a tail up to about 56 centimeters, and a weight of 3 to 14 kilograms, with males slightly larger than females. It is the largest of the true foxes (genus *Vulpes*) and can run at about 48 kilometers per hour. Alaska's Department of Fish and Game lists its lifespan as 3 years. In captivity one can live far longer: the AnAge longevity database records a wild-born female still alive at an estimated 21.3 years. When it hunts mice and other small animals hidden under snow or in tall grass, a fox goes still, listens hard, then leaps high and drives its front paws straight down to pin the prey. Researchers who studied these jumps found that foxes tend to leap in a roughly northeast direction, and when they're hunting prey they can't see, under snow or in tall vegetation, successful pounces are tightly clustered to the north, while jumps in other directions mostly miss. The scientists suggest the fox is lining up the strike using Earth's magnetic field, a case of magnetic alignment that sharpens its aim. > **Ears That Hear Digging** Red foxes have excellent hearing. They can hear low-frequency sounds and rodents digging underground. ## An Omnivore That Eats Whatever Is Available Foxes mostly eat rodents, rabbits, insects, and fruit, and they'll also eat carrion. They cache extra food when hunting is good, and have been seen coming back to dig up a cache, check it, and rebury it in the same spot. Being solitary makes it easy for a fox to hide from people, and while other large predators have been pushed away from human development, red foxes have taken advantage of the changed habitat, living in parks and woodland edges. Red foxes are found across much of the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to Central America, the steppes of central Asia, and northern Africa. It is the world's most widely distributed wild land carnivore. People have also introduced them to Australia and the Falkland Islands. ## An Introduced Hunter in Australia Over the last 200 years or so, more than a tenth of the 273 land mammal species found only in Australia have gone extinct, and scientists point to predation by introduced foxes and feral cats, together with changed fire patterns, as the most likely main cause. As a species, though, the red fox is not threatened: the IUCN rates it Least Concern. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does a red fox use Earth's magnetic field to hunt? Possibly. When a fox is mousing in tall grass or under snow, it can't see its prey, and hearing seems to be how it pinpoints it. The fox jumps high to surprise its prey from above. Researchers found that foxes tend to aim these jumps in a roughly northeast direction, and that when foxes hunt in tall grass or under snow, successful pounces are tightly clustered to the north, while jumps in other directions mostly miss. They suggest this is a case of magnetic alignment that sharpens the fox's aim. *(Source: [Červený et al. 2011]())* ### How big does a red fox get? A red fox's head and body run about 46 to 90 centimeters long, plus a tail up to about 56 centimeters, and it weighs 3 to 14 kilograms, with males slightly larger than females. *(Source: [Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan]())* ### What does a red fox eat? Whatever is available. Red foxes prefer rodents and rabbits, but they will also eat birds, amphibians, and fruit, and they'll steal food from garbage cans or farms too. *(Source: [National Wildlife Federation]())* ### Why are red foxes a problem in Australia? They were introduced there. Scientists point to predation by introduced foxes and feral cats, along with changed fire patterns, as the most likely main reason that more than a tenth of the 273 land mammal species found only in Australia have gone extinct over the last 200 years or so. As a species, though, the red fox is not threatened: the IUCN rates it Least Concern. *(Source: [Woinarski, Burbidge & Harrison 2015]())* ## Sources 1. [Vulpes vulpes (red fox). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 2. [Red Fox. Alaska Department of Fish and Game.]() 3. [Red Fox. National Wildlife Federation.]() 4. [AnAge entry for Vulpes vulpes. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, 2023.]() 5. [Red Fox. Colorado Parks and Wildlife.]() 6. [Species Spotlight: Red Fox. U.S. National Park Service, 2025.]() 7. [Červený et al. (2011). Directional preference may enhance hunting accuracy in foraging foxes. Biology Letters.]() 8. [Statham et al. (2014). Range‐wide multilocus phylogeography of the red fox reveals ancient continental divergence, minimal genomic exchange and distinct demographic histories. Molecular Ecology.]() 9. [Woinarski, Burbidge & Harrison (2015). Ongoing unraveling of a continental fauna: Decline and extinction of Australian mammals since European settlement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.]() 10. [Soulsbury (2025). Vulpes vulpes. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T23062A223595579.]() *Published September 1, 2026. 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