With winter looming, many animals are busy looking for shelter from the cold, while others avoid it by migrating to warmer climates. The red fox does neither.
At home in the field, forest or even in a big city, foxes seem to thrive in all kinds of conditions, and of the dozen different fox species on Earth the National Wildlife Service says that none are as widespread as the red fox.
Red fox can be found throughout Michigan in places where food and shelter are available, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources website.
Well prepared for all but the worst winter has to offer, foxes don’t turn tail and run from the elements.
With its warm fur coat, a red fox will stay out in all but the most severe weather, according to Nature Conservancy documents.
Instead of hiding out in a den, a red fox will usually just curl up right out in the open, the Nature Conservancy states. By wrapping its bushy tail around its nose, the fox can stay warm even when it’s completely covered by snow.
Finding food is a bigger problem in winter.
Most animals that hibernate, such as frogs and bears, are heavily dependent on food sources that disappear in winter. Foxes eat small animals that don’t hibernate — so they don’t have to hibernate, either.
This can be a challenge as prey are still hard to come by in winter, even for an animal as clever as a fox.
During the cold winter months, foxes rely on stored fat according to a report by the Michigan Nature Association. By packing on the pounds in summer and fall, this extra layer provides added insulation and also gives them energy when food is scarce.
Though omnivorous most of the year, the scarcity of vegetables, insects and fruits means a greater reliance on hunting and scavenging strategies once things get cold, according to the Nature Conservancy.
To do this, the red fox utilizes its keen sense of hearing and smell.
The National Wildlife Service says that the fox can “hear a mouse squeaking from as far away as the length of a football field.”
It has a distinctive hunting technique, according to the Nature Conservancy: “freeze, listen, leap and pin down.”
During winter, a fox’s diet mostly consists of rabbits, mice, squirrels, rats and carrion, according to the Nature Conservancy, which estimates it needs to eat between 1 and 2 pounds each day.
If a fox manages to bite off more than it can chew, it will bury the surplus food in a shallow hole, or cache, for when it’s needed, Nature Conservancy documents state.
With little food to be found in winter, the search for a meal can bring these opportunistic animals closer to human dwellings, according to pest control companies like Critter Control.
“Although foxes don’t hibernate, they can den under porches or burrow under homes during their breeding season,” its website states.
Fox can be a problem for home owners and rural property owners. This is especially so when they associate people with food. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources offers the following prevention and control tips for property owners to avoid interacting with red foxes:
- Never intentionally feed wildlife.
- Eliminate all outside food sources, especially pet foods and bird feeders.
- Clear out any wood and brush piles or tall grass; they are good habitat for birds, rabbits and mice which may attract fox.
- Put garbage out the morning of pickup day.
- Never approach or touch a fox.
- Discourage a fox from denning on your property by creating a lot of human activity and disturbance in the area.
- Do not allow small pets to roam freely when fox are present — consider keeping pets indoors and accompanying them outside, especially at night.
- If a fox dens on your property, they will most likely be solitary and confined to the den while the mother fox has her kits. During the spring the kits will emerge from the den and set out to find dens of their own. Scare the kits away and make sure food sources are removed. If they feel threatened, they will leave the property in search for a safer den site.
Source: Manistee News
