Paul Wickham, age 9, of Austin, Texas, for his question:
WHAT DOES THE RED FOX EAT?
The red fox is the most common fox of the northern United States and Canada. It has a bushy tail and a sharp snout. This member of the dog family will eat almost any animal that it can catch easily, especially mice and other kinds of rodents.
The fox will also hunt birds, frogs, insects, lizards and rabbits. In addition, a fox will eat many kinds of fruit and the remains of dead animals.
Most foxes hide the uneatened parts of their prey. They dig a shallow hole, drop the meat in and spread dirt over it. A fox then later returns to the stored food, both to feed and, apparently, to check on it.
Some foxes may prey on farmers, chickens if the birds roam freely or if the chicken coops are not closed tightly. But foxes help farmers by eating mice and rats. In some areas where foxes had been killed off, rodents increased so much that farmers brought in other foxes.
Foxes hunt mostly at night and stay active the year around. They often roam grassy meadows and listen for the squeaks of mice. The grass conceals the mice, but if a fox sees a slight movement of blades of grass, it jumps onto the spot.
Foxes sometimes stand on their hind legs to get a better view in tall grass. A fox also may lie in wait and pounce on a ground squirrel or a woodchuck as the victim leaves its hole.
A female fox will give birth to her young in late winter or early spring. Red foxes have from four to nine pups at a time, and gray foxes have from three to five.
A newborn fox only weighs about four ounces. Its eyes are closed when it is born, and it also has a short muzzle. Its eyes open about nine days after birth and the snout grows longer as the animal matures.
Pups drink the mother's milk for about five weeks. Then they start to eat some solid food and leave their den for short periods. By late summer, the pups go out on their own.
Foxes settle in dens after mating. A fox den may be underground, in a cave, among rocks or in a hollow tree or log. Some red foxes dig their own dens, but most use burrows abandoned by such animals as woodchucks.
The foxes may enlarge a burrow if necessary.
An underground fox den may be as long as 75 feet and have several entrances. A main tunnel leads to several chambers that the animals use for nests and for storing food. Two pairs of red foxes may share one burrow.
Gray foxes dig less than red foxes. Most gray foxes live in caves, rock piles, logs or tree holes.
Many kinds of foxes live in dens only while raising pups. After the pups have grown old enough to hunt for themselves, the adults and the pups both sleep in the open most of the time.
Foxes are found throughout the world except in Antarctica, Southwest Asia and in some of the Pacific islands. In the wilds, they live to be about 14 years old.