Hoary fox[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Genus:	Lycalopex
Species:	L. vetulus
Binomial name
Lycalopex vetulus (Lund, 1842)
Hoary fox range
Synonyms
Pseudoalopex vetulus Dusicyon vetulus

The hoary fox (Lycalopex vetulus), also called raposinha-do-campo (Portuguese for "meadow fox") or the hoary zorro^{[citation needed]}, is a species of zorro or "false" fox endemic to Brazil. Unlike many other foxes, it feeds primarily on small invertebrates such as insects.

Description[link]

The hoary fox has a short muzzle, small teeth, a short coat, and slender limbs. The upper part of the body is grey, and the underside of the body is cream or fawn. The tail is black on the tip with a marked dark stripe along the upper surface, which in male animals, may extend all the way along the back to the nape of the neck. The ears and outside part of the legs are reddish or tawny, and the lower jaw is black. Some melanistic individuals have also been reported.^[3][4]

It is small for a fox, weighing only 3 to 4 kilograms (6.6 to 8.8 lb), with a head and body length of 58 to 72 centimetres (23 to 28 in), and a tail 25 to 36 centimetres (9.8 to 14 in). Together with its slender form, the small size of the hoary fox makes it an agile and fast-running animal, while its relatively weak teeth adapt it to feeding on invertebrates, rather than larger prey.^[4]

Behaviour and diet[link]

Hoary foxes are nocturnal,^[5] and largely solitary outside of the breeding season. It mainly eats insects, especially termites and dung beetles, but also may eat rodents, small birds, and fruit. Individuals have widely varying home ranges, depending on the local environment, but an average of 48 hectares (120 acres) has been reported from pastures in Mato Grosso.^[4]

Range[link]

The hoary fox is native to south-central Brazil, although there are some recorded sightings from the north of the country, and Pleistocene fossils are known from Argentina. Although they may be found in more marginal habitats, they usually live in the cerrado, between 90 and 1,100 metres (300 and 3,600 ft) elevation, where there are open woodlands, bushlands, and savannahs that are smooth or scattered with trees.^[4]

There are no recognised subspecies.

Reproduction[link]

Females usually give birth to two to four pups in August to September, after a gestation period of around 50 days. The female prepares a den in which to give birth, sometimes using the burrows of other animals. Weaning occurs at around four months of age.^[4]

References[link]

Wikispecies has information related to: Lycalopex vetulus

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hoary fox

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

Foxes
Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Tribe:	Vulpini
Genera
Vulpes Cerdocyon Chrysocyon †Dusicyon Otocyon Urocyon

Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids (slightly smaller than the medium-sized domestic dog), characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail (or brush).

Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to the Vulpes genus of "true foxes". By far the most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), although various species are found on almost every continent. The presence of fox-like carnivores all over the globe, together with their widespread reputation for cunning, has contributed to their appearance in popular culture and folklore in many societies around the world (see also Foxes in culture).

Etymology[link]

The Modern English word "fox" is Old English, and comes from the Proto-Germanic word fukh – compare German Fuchs, Gothic fauho, Old Norse foa and Dutch vos. It corresponds to the Proto-Indo-European word puk- meaning "tail of it" (compare Sanskrit puccha, also "tail"). The bushy tail is also the source of the word for fox in Welsh: llwynog, from llwyn, "bush, grove".^[1] Lithuanian: uodegis, from uodega, "tail", Portuguese: raposa, from rabo, "tail"^[2] and Ojibwa: waagosh, from waa, which refers to the up and down "bounce" or flickering of an animal or its tail.^[3] Male foxes are known as dogs or reynards, females as vixens, and young as kits, pups or cubs. A group of foxes is a "skulk", "leash", "troop" or "earth".

General characteristics[link]

The fennec fox is the smallest species of fox.

Arctic fox curled up in snow.

In the wild, foxes can live for up to 10 years, but most foxes only live for 2 to 3 years due to hunting, road accidents and diseases. Foxes are generally smaller than other members of the family Canidae such as wolves, jackals, and domestic dogs. Reynards (male foxes) weigh, on average, around 5.9 kilograms (13 lb) and vixens (female foxes) weigh less, at around 5.2 kilograms (11.5 lb).^[4] Fox-like features typically include a distinctive muzzle (a "fox face") and bushy tail. Other physical characteristics vary according to habitat. For example, the fennec fox (and other species of fox adapted to life in the desert, such as the kit fox) has large ears and short fur, whereas the Arctic fox has tiny ears and thick, insulating fur. Another example is the red fox which has a typical auburn pelt, the tail normally ending with white marking. Litter sizes can vary greatly according to species and environment – the Arctic fox, for example, has an average litter of four to five, with eleven as maximum.^[5]

Unlike many canids, foxes are not always pack animals. Typically, they live in small family groups, and are opportunistic feeders that hunt live prey (especially rodents). Using a pouncing technique practiced from an early age, they are usually able to kill their prey quickly. Foxes also gather a wide variety of other foods ranging from grasshoppers to fruit and berries. The gray fox is one of only two canine species known to climb trees; the other is the raccoon dog.

Foxes are normally extremely wary of humans and are not usually kept as indoor pets; however, the silver fox was successfully domesticated in Russia after a 45-year selective breeding program. This selective breeding also resulted in physical and behavioral traits appearing that are frequently seen in domestic cats, dogs, and other animals, such as pigmentation changes, floppy ears, and curly tails.^[6]

Classification[link]

Skeleton

Canids commonly known as foxes include members of the following genera:

• Alopex: Arctic fox, although the definitive mammal taxonomy list as well as genetic evidence places it in Vulpes, and not as a genus unto itself.
• Canis: The Ethiopian Wolf, also called, variously, Semien fox or Semien jackal (though recently renamed to reflect its biological affinity with the gray wolf).
• Cerdocyon: Crab-eating fox.
• Chrysocyon: Maned wolf (in English), aguara guazú ("big fox" in Guarani) and zorro rojizo ("reddish fox," one of several names used by Spanish speakers).
• Dusicyon: Falkland Islands fox.
• Lycalopex: Six South American species.
• Otocyon: Bat-eared fox.
• Urocyon: Gray fox, island fox and Cozumel fox.
• Vulpes: Including 12 species of true foxes, including the red fox, V. vulpes, Tibetan Sand Fox, Vulpes ferrilata and their closest kin.

Diet[link]

A Chilla fox in Pan de Azúcar National Park in the coast of Atacama Desert.

Foxes are omnivores.^[7][8] The diet of foxes is largely made up of invertebrates and other small mammals, reptiles, (such as snakes), amphibians, scorpions, grasses, berries, fruit, fish, birds, eggs, dung beetles, insects and all other kinds of small animals. Many species are generalist predators, but some (such as the crab-eating fox) are more specialist. Most species of fox generally consume around 1 kg of food every day. Foxes cache excess food, burying it for later consumption, usually under leaves, snow, or soil.

Conservation[link]

The island fox is a critically endangered species.

Foxes are readily found in cities and cultivated areas and (depending upon species) seem to adapt reasonably well to human presence.

Red foxes have been introduced into Australia which lacks similar carnivores other than the dingo, and the introduced foxes prey on native wildlife, some to the point of extinction.

Other fox species do not reproduce as readily as the red fox, and are endangered in their native environments. Key among these are the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) and the African bat-eared fox. Other foxes such as fennec foxes, are not endangered.

Foxes have been successfully employed to control pests on fruit farms while leaving the fruit intact.^[9]

Relationships with humans[link]

A red fox on the porch of an Evergreen, Colorado home.

Fox attacks on humans are not common but have been reported. In November 2008, an incident in the United States was reported in which a jogger was attacked and bitten on the foot and arm by a rabid fox in Arizona.^[10] In July 2002, a 14-week-old baby was attacked in a house in Dartford, Kent, United Kingdom.^[11] In June 2010, 9-month-old twin girls were bitten on the arms and face when a fox entered their upstairs room in east London.^[12]

Fox hunting[link]

Fox hunting is an activity that originated in the United Kingdom in the 16th century. Hunting with dogs is now banned in the United Kingdom,^{[13][14][15][16]} though hunting without dogs is still permitted. It is practiced as recreation in several other countries including Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Russia and the United States.

Domestication[link]

The Russian silver fox, or domesticated silver fox, is the result of nearly fifty years of experiments in the Soviet Union and Russia to domesticate the silver morph of the red fox. Notably, the new foxes became more tame, allowing themselves to be petted, whimpering to get attention and sniffing and licking their caretakers.^[17] They also became more dog-like as well: they lost their distinctive musky "fox smell", became more friendly with humans, put their ears down (like dogs), wagged their tails when happy and began to vocalize and bark like domesticated dogs. They also began to exhibit other traits seen in some dog breeds, such as color pattern, curled tails, floppy ears, and shorter legs and tails.^[17] They are also more likely to have piebald coats. The breeding project was set up by the Soviet scientist Dmitri K. Belyaev.

In culture[link]

In many cultures, the fox appears in folklore as a symbol of cunning and trickery, or as a familiar animal possessed of magic powers.

In some countries, foxes are major predators of rabbits and hens. Population oscillations of these two species were the first nonlinear oscillation studied, and led to the now-famous Lotka-Volterra equation.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fox

Look up fox in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fox

• BBC Wales Nature: Fox videos
• BBC Wild About Nature: Fox facts and videos
• The fox website
• More fox sound files
• Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage fact sheet, 2004
• Texts on Wikisource:
  • "Fox". The American Cyclopædia. 1879. 
  • "Fox". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 9 (9th ed.). 1879. 
  • "Fox". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. 
  • "Fox". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. 
  • Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). "Fox". The New Student's Reference Work. Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co.. Wikisource 
  • "Fox". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. 
  • "Fox". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Longfellow in 1868 by Julia Margaret Cameron
Born	(1807-02-27)February 27, 1807 Portland, Maine, United States
Died	March 24, 1882(1882-03-24) (aged 75) Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Occupation	Poet Professor
Literary movement	Romanticism
Signature

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy and was one of the five Fireside Poets.

Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, then part of Massachusetts, and studied at Bowdoin College. After spending time in Europe he became a professor at Bowdoin and, later, at Harvard College. His first major poetry collections were Voices of the Night (1839) and Ballads and Other Poems (1841). Longfellow retired from teaching in 1854 to focus on his writing, living the remainder of his life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a former headquarters of George Washington. His first wife, Mary Potter, died in 1835 after a miscarriage. His second wife, Frances Appleton, died in 1861 after sustaining burns when her dress caught fire. After her death, Longfellow had difficulty writing poetry for a time and focused on his translation. He died in 1882.

Longfellow predominantly wrote lyric poems which are known for their musicality and which often presented stories of mythology and legend. He became the most popular American poet of his day and also had success overseas. He has been criticized, however, for imitating European styles and writing specifically for the masses.

Life and work[link]