The fox belongs to the canids. It is a predator that occurs naturally in many places in the Netherlands. A fox also regularly walks around in our Equihabitat. That is not great for our small animals such as chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs, but the fox does help us with pest control such as mice.
What does the fox look like?
The ears are black at the back, as are the "socks", the lower legs. Some animals have a white tail tip; many foxes have at least some white hairs around the tip of the tail. The upper lip is white, as is the lip. The beak is a spot between his chin and front legs. The fox has a slender snout and pointed erect ears. The tail is long and thick. It is usually 35 to 40 centimeters high and 50 to 80 centimeters long. It weighs six to ten, sometimes fifteen kilograms. Males are generally larger than females.
How does the fox live?
The fox usually lives in a group of about six animals. But foxes hunt solitary, which means that they do not hunt with their group, but alone. You usually see it at night and at dusk. The fox eats almost everything. He can run fast, up to sixty kilometers per hour. This is flashed within built-up areas, because that is faster than you are allowed to drive a car there.
Foxes live in a den. The burrow is either dug by a rabbit or a badger. The diameter of the pipe (corridor to the cave) is approximately 20 cm. It happens that foxes even share their den with rabbits and badgers. A self-dug burrow is usually located in a sandbank, under a fallen tree, between tree roots or under rocks and often has two to four entrances. A large cave, with multiple entrances, is called a castle. Usually only pregnant females use the den. Outside the breeding season, the fox usually stays in sheltered places during the day.
What does the fox eat?
Its prey are usually small and medium-sized prey animals, such as large beetles, mice and other rodents, rabbits, hares, birds and eggs, earthworms and hedgehogs. Fruits and berries (especially blackberries) are also eaten. This means that the fox is omnivorous, as it eats both animals and plants.
A fox must consume approximately five hundred grams (half a kilo) of food every day. A fox sometimes kills more than it needs. Especially in places where several prey animals are crowded together and cannot escape, he can cause a real slaughter. That means that many people are not very happy with a fox as a neighbor.