Nature Notebook – Red Fox

The first week of July allowed for many animal sightings. Among the usual deer, groundhog, raccoon and frog views, I caught a glimpse into the life of a family of red foxes.

Red foxes are usually seen alone, but family groups can be seen together from March to September when Mom and even Dad take care of the young and teach them survival skills.

Late one evening I viewed two kits and one adult red fox pouncing on something in the grass. Perhaps a rodent or even a grasshopper was on the menu tonight. Red foxes are extremely adaptable and feed on a variety of food. Along with small mammals and ground-nesting birds, red foxes will eat berries, nuts, insects, carrion, snakes, salamanders and crayfish.

Being opportunistic in feeding has helped this species, allowing their range to cover most of the United States and Canada. Red foxes pose no threat to people.

My last sighting of the two kits showed me they aren’t very different than my housecats. The young foxes spent a few minutes grooming each other peacefully on the back porch, watching the sun rise.