---
title: "What the sources say about the Red Fox | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "57 claims from the Red Fox profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-fox/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Red Fox (*Vulpes vulpes*)

> 57 claims from the Red Fox profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Red Fox](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-fox/)

## Vulpes vulpes (red fox). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Vulpes_vulpes/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| an omnivore's habit of eating whatever is available | Red foxes are essentially omnivores. (note: tagline; 'omnivore') |
| Forests, tundra, deserts, farmland, suburbs, and cities across much of the Northern Hemisphere, plus introduced populations in Australia | Red foxes utilize a wide range of habitats including forest, tundra, prairie, desert, mountains, farmlands, and urban areas. (note: stats.habitat; 'cities' is ADW's 'urban areas') |
| Forests, tundra, deserts, farmland, suburbs, and cities across much of the Northern Hemisphere, plus introduced populations in Australia | Red foxes are found throughout much of the northern hemisphere (note: stats.habitat; 'across much of the Northern Hemisphere') |
| Forests, tundra, deserts, farmland, suburbs, and cities across much of the Northern Hemisphere, plus introduced populations in Australia | Red foxes have also been introduced to Australia and the Falkland Islands. (note: stats.habitat; the Australia clause) |
| Mostly rodents, rabbits, insects, and fruit, plus birds and carrion; extra food is cached when hunting is good | They mostly eat rodents, eastern cottontail rabbits, insects, and fruit. They will also eat carrion. (note: stats.diet) |
| Mostly rodents, rabbits, insects, and fruit, plus birds and carrion; extra food is cached when hunting is good | Animal Foods birds mammals reptiles carrion (note: stats.diet; birds sit in ADW's Animal Foods list, not its 'mostly' list, so they go after 'plus') |
| has a head and body about 46 to 90 centimeters long, a tail up to about 56 centimeters | Head and body length ranges from 455 to 900 mm, tail length from 300 to 555 mm (note: converted mm to cm and rounded: 45.5-90 cm, 30-55.5 cm) |
| a weight of 3 to 14 kilograms, with males slightly larger than females | weight from 3 to 14 kg. Males are slightly larger than females. |
| a fox goes still, listens hard, then leaps high and drives its front paws straight down to pin the prey | The fox stands motionless, listening and watching intently for a mouse it has detected. It then leaps high and brings the forelimbs straight down forcibly to pin the mouse to the ground. |
| Foxes mostly eat rodents, rabbits, insects, and fruit, and they'll also eat carrion | They mostly eat rodents, eastern cottontail rabbits, insects, and fruit. They will also eat carrion. |
| 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 | Red foxes are found throughout much of the northern hemisphere from the Arctic circle to Central America, the steppes of central Asia, and northern Africa. |
| People have also introduced them to Australia and the Falkland Islands. | Red foxes have also been introduced to Australia and the Falkland Islands. |
| A red fox's head and body run about 46 to 90 centimeters long, plus a tail up to about 56 centimeters | Head and body length ranges from 455 to 900 mm, tail length from 300 to 555 mm (note: converted mm to cm and rounded) |
| it weighs 3 to 14 kilograms | Range mass 3 to 14 kg |
| with males slightly larger than females | Males are slightly larger than females. |
| They were introduced there. | Red foxes have also been introduced to Australia and the Falkland Islands. (note: FAQ 4 opener) |
| for a hunter that stands motionless listening for a mouse, then leaps high and brings its front paws straight down to pin it | The fox stands motionless, listening and watching intently for a mouse it has detected. It then leaps high and brings the forelimbs straight down forcibly to pin the mouse to the ground. (note: vibe.reason, settled in #181) |
| It is the largest of the true foxes | Red foxes are the largest of the Vulpes species. (note: #244: the '(genus Vulpes)' gloss; agrees with the 2025 NPS page) |

## Red Fox. Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=redfox.main

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Mostly rodents, rabbits, insects, and fruit, plus birds and carrion; extra food is cached when hunting is good | Foxes cache excess food when the hunting is good. (note: stats.diet; the caching clause) |
| Alaska's Department of Fish and Game lists its lifespan as 3 years. | Fast Facts Size Weight: 6-15 lbs Body Length: 22-32 inches Tail Length: 14-16 inches Lifespan 3 years (note: scoped to the Alaska agency that states it; ADW's range-wide wild average is old and its own AnAge rows disagree (wild 7.0, captivity 15.0), so no range-wide lifespan is given) |
| 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. | Foxes cache excess food when the hunting is good. They return to these storage sites and have been observed digging up a cache, inspecting it, and reburying it in the same spot. |

## Red Fox. National Wildlife Federation.

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Red-Fox

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Fluffy white-tipped tail | One of the most noticeable characteristics of the red fox is the fluffy white-tipped tail. (note: tagline) |
| an omnivore's habit of eating whatever is available | red foxes will readily eat whatever is available (note: tagline) |
| Forests, tundra, deserts, farmland, suburbs, and cities across much of the Northern Hemisphere, plus introduced populations in Australia | Red foxes like open areas in woodlands, rural and suburban neighborhoods, wetlands, and brushy fields. (note: stats.habitat; 'suburbs') |
| Ears That Hear Digging | Red foxes have excellent hearing. They can hear low-frequency sounds and rodents digging underground. (note: blockquote lead-in) |
| Red foxes have excellent hearing. They can hear low-frequency sounds and rodents digging underground. | Red foxes have excellent hearing. They can hear low-frequency sounds and rodents digging underground. (note: blockquote fact board) |
| An Omnivore That Eats Whatever Is Available | red foxes will readily eat whatever is available (note: heading) |
| Being solitary makes it easy for a fox to hide from people | Red foxes are solitary, so it is easy for them to hide and escape people. |
| while other large predators have been pushed away from human development, red foxes have taken advantage of the changed habitat | While other large predators have been pushed away from human development, red foxes took advantage of the changed habitat. |
| living in parks and woodland edges | They live in parks and woodland edges |
| Whatever is available. | red foxes will readily eat whatever is available |
| Red foxes prefer rodents and rabbits, but they will also eat birds, amphibians, and fruit | Red foxes prefer rodents and rabbits, but they will also eat birds , amphibians , and fruit. |
| they'll steal food from garbage cans or farms too | Red foxes will also steal food from garbage cans or farms. |

## AnAge entry for Vulpes vulpes. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, 2023.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Vulpes_vulpes

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In captivity one can live far longer: the AnAge longevity database records a wild-born female still alive at an estimated 21.3 years. | One wild born female was still living in captivity at an estimated 21.3 years of age (note: AnAge Build 15 (2023), maximum longevity 21.3 years (captivity); 'far longer' is against ADFG's 3-year lifespan in the sentence before) |

## Red Fox. Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

https://cpw.state.co.us/species/red-fox

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| can run at about 48 kilometers per hour | Red fox can run at speeds of 30 miles per hour (note: #244: 30 mph is 48.3 km/h; Oklahoma's ODWC field guide (live 2026) says 'around 30 mph' too, and both agree with ADW's older 'Top speed is about 48 km/h') |

## Species Spotlight: Red Fox. U.S. National Park Service, 2025.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/species-spotlight-red-fox.htm

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| It is the largest of the true foxes | Even though it is the largest member of the “true foxes” (note: #244: NPS Species Spotlight, last updated January 15, 2025, is the current source the date rule asks for beside ADW's rank) |

## Červený et al. (2011). Directional preference may enhance hunting accuracy in foraging foxes. Biology Letters.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2010.1145

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a pounce that may be aimed using Earth's magnetic field | We suggest that this directional preference represents a case of magnetic alignment and enhances the precision of hunting attacks. (note: tagline; 'may' carries the paper's 'suggest') |
| 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. | When foxes are hunting in high vegetation and under snow cover, successful attacks are tightly clustered to the north, while attacks in other directions are largely unsuccessful. (note: stats.superpower) |
| The Fox's Northward Pounce | successful attacks are tightly clustered to the north (note: heading) |
| When it hunts mice and other small animals hidden under snow or in tall grass | Red foxes hunting small animals show a specific behaviour known as 'mousing'. (note: 'mice' from ADW's 'Red foxes have a characteristic manner of hunting mice') |
| When it hunts mice and other small animals hidden under snow or in tall grass | in high vegetation or under snow where it cannot be detected with visual cues (note: 'hidden under snow or in tall grass') |
| foxes tend to leap in a roughly northeast direction | Foxes on the prowl tend to direct their jumps in a roughly north-eastern compass direction. |
| 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 | When foxes are hunting in high vegetation and under snow cover, successful attacks are tightly clustered to the north, while attacks in other directions are largely unsuccessful. (note: 'prey they can't see' is the abstract's 'cannot be detected with visual cues' in high vegetation or under snow) |
| The scientists suggest the fox is lining up the strike using Earth's magnetic field, a case of magnetic alignment that sharpens its aim. | We suggest that this directional preference represents a case of magnetic alignment and enhances the precision of hunting attacks. (note: 'suggest' kept because the paper frames this as a hypothesis) |
| Possibly. | We suggest that this directional preference represents a case of magnetic alignment and enhances the precision of hunting attacks. (note: FAQ 1 opener; the paper's 'suggest') |
| 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. | Hearing seems to be the primary sense for precise prey location in high vegetation or under snow where it cannot be detected with visual cues. |
| The fox jumps high to surprise its prey from above. | The fox jumps high, so that it surprises its prey from above. |
| foxes tend to aim these jumps in a roughly northeast direction | Foxes on the prowl tend to direct their jumps in a roughly north-eastern compass direction. |
| when foxes hunt in tall grass or under snow, successful pounces are tightly clustered to the north, while jumps in other directions mostly miss | When foxes are hunting in high vegetation and under snow cover, successful attacks are tightly clustered to the north, while attacks in other directions are largely unsuccessful. |
| They suggest this is a case of magnetic alignment that sharpens the fox's aim. | We suggest that this directional preference represents a case of magnetic alignment and enhances the precision of hunting attacks. |

## 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.

https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12898

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| It is the world's most widely distributed wild land carnivore. | the world's most widely distributed wild terrestrial carnivore (note: replaces ADW's 'widest distribution of any canid', a record that rested on ADW alone) |

## 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.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1417301112

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| An Introduced Hunter in Australia | predation by introduced species, particularly the feral cat, Felis catus, and European red fox, Vulpes vulpes (note: heading) |
| Over the last 200 years or so, more than a tenth of the 273 land mammal species found only in Australia have gone extinct | suffered an extraordinary rate of extinction (>10% of the 273 endemic terrestrial species) over the last ∼200 y (note: 'found only in Australia' is 'endemic') |
| scientists point to predation by introduced foxes and feral cats, together with changed fire patterns, as the most likely main cause | the loss of Australian land mammals is most likely due primarily to predation by introduced species, particularly the feral cat, Felis catus, and European red fox, Vulpes vulpes, and changed fire regimes |
| predation by introduced foxes and feral cats, along with changed fire patterns, as the most likely main reason | the loss of Australian land mammals is most likely due primarily to predation by introduced species, particularly the feral cat, Felis catus, and European red fox, Vulpes vulpes, and changed fire regimes |
| more than a tenth of the 273 land mammal species found only in Australia have gone extinct over the last 200 years or so | suffered an extraordinary rate of extinction (>10% of the 273 endemic terrestrial species) over the last ∼200 y (note: 'found only in Australia' is 'endemic') |

## Soulsbury (2025). Vulpes vulpes. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T23062A223595579.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-1.rlts.t23062a223595579.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| As a species, though, the red fox is not threatened: the IUCN rates it Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: same sentence closes the body and FAQ 4; Least Concern is outside the Red List's threatened categories) |