HOW MANY BABIES DOES A FOX HAVE?

Foxes are bushy tailed, sharp snouted members of the dog family. Foxes and foxlike animals live throughout the world except in Antarctica, Southeast Asia and some islands.

A female fox gives 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 weighs about four ounces and has a short muzzle and closed eyes. Its eyes open about nine days after birth.

Pups drink the mother's milk for about five weeks. Then they begin to eat some solid food and leave their den for short periods.

Later, the pups werstle with one another and pounce on insects, leaves, sticks and their parents' tails. The adults also bring live mice for the young to pounce on. Later, the adults show the pups how to stalk prey.

The pups start to live on their own in later summer and may wander far from their place of birth. The parents may separate at this time but they usually rejoin each other during the winter.

Foxes settle in dens. A den may be underground, in a cave, among rocks or in a hollow log or tree. An underground den may be as long as 75 feet and have several entrances.