The red fox is normally rusty-reddish to reddish-yellow on its dorsal surface with darker hairs often being intermixed down the middle of the back. Red foxes prefer broken, sparsely settled country. Ideal habitat is provided by farmland mixed with sparsely wooded areas, brushland, and streams. The red fox has been observed at all elevations in the park. Although these foxes are primarily nocturnal, they may be abroad at any hour during all seasons. They are masters at eluding human and animal enemies.

Species Description:
- Adult Total Length: 900-1,070 mm (35-42 in.)
- Tail: 350-400 mm (14-16 in.)
- Hind Foot: 124-182 mm (5-7 in.)
- Weight: 2.7-6.7 kg (6-15 lb.)
- Physical Characteristics: The red fox is normally rusty-reddish to reddish-yellow on its dorsal surface with darker hairs often being intermixed down the middle of the back. The fronts of the legs and feet are black, and the underparts are whitish. The ears are large, pointed, and erect, and the muzzle is sharp and elongate. The long, bushy tail has a white tip.

Habitat:
Red foxes prefer broken, sparsely settled country. Ideal habitat is provided by farmland mixed with sparsely wooded areas, brushland, and streams.

Reproduction:
Litters averaging four to seven pups are usually born in March or April. The den may consist of an enlarged Woodchuck (Marmota_monax) burrow or a natural cavity. Since red foxes are not good diggers, the den is often in loose soil on a wooded slope or in an open field. Pups reach their adult size in about six months and disperse in September and October.

Longevity:
Most wild foxes probably survive two to four years, although the record is 8? years (Linzey, 1995a).

Terrestrial Ecology:
Although these foxes are primarily nocturnal, they may be abroad at any hour during all seasons. The senses of sight, smell, and hearing are well developed. Red foxes are masters at eluding human and animal enemies.

Feeding Habits:
Red foxes feed on a variety of animal and plant foods including cottontails, mice, insects, birds, turtles, snakes, carrion, and fruit. Stupka found grasshoppers (Schistocerca) in the stomachs of two foxes from Indian Gap and along The Boulevard Trail in December. On September 12, 1944, seven freshly killed short-tailed shrews were noted along 1? miles of the Appalachian Trail just prior to the observation of a red fox in that area by a group of hikers (Stupka).

Predators and Defense:
Young foxes are preyed upon by a variety of raptors and carnivores. Coyote (Canis latrans) will kill adult red foxes. Otherwise, they have few enemies other than humans and their automobiles.

Parasites:
None recorded from the park.

The range of the red fox extends from Alaska throughout all but the extreme north of Canada, south in the Cascade-Sierra Nevada chain to central California and in the Rocky Mountain chain to southern New Mexico, east of the plains, south to central Texas, southern Alabama, and western Florida.

The red fox has been observed at all elevations in the park.

References:

Lariviere, S. and M. Pasitschniak-Arts. 1996. Vulpes vulpes. Mammalian Species No. 537: 1-11. American Society of Mammalogists.

Linzey, D. W. 1995a. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.

Linzey, D. W. 1998. The Mammals of Virginia. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.

Seidensticker, J. 1999. Red Fox. Pages 150-152 . In: D.E. Wilson, and S. Ruff (eds.). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

Stupka, A. 1935-63. Nature Journal, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 28 vols. (years) each with index. (Typewritten copy in files of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.)

The Mammals of Virginia, by Donald W. Linzey. Copyright 1998

The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals, edited by Don E. Wilson and Sue Ruff. Copyright 1999