About
Foxes have made a success of living with people. This is not so much because of their mythical cunning, but rather their ability to adapt to a range of changing conditions. Now accustomed to living in close range of humans, successive generations have spread inwards towards the city centre. Today there can be more opportunities of food and shelter in towns and cities than in the surrounding countryside, with the destruction of hedgerows, woods and wild field margins.
Living with people
Foxes started appearing in towns and cities following World War I due to a change in people's lifestyles. New transport systems allowed people to work in one place and to live in another, and suburban housing was built in once rural areas. Foxes quickly adapted, taking advantage of the food and shelter provided in these new relatively large gardens.
The number of foxes in London remains about the same despite approximately 60% of the population dying every year. Nearly half of these deaths are due to car accidents. However, injured animals often survive, lying under a garden shed until the bones start to knit together. Once the fox is able to feed again it will soon regain its lost weight. Generally it is best not to move an injured or sick animal, rather to put out food for it each night. A fox taken in for treatment has only a slim chance of survival. It will probably be driven out from its territory by a new tenant. This "do not disturb" policy is true for supposedly abandoned fox cubs. A vixen normally leaves her cubs for long periods of time, especially as they get older. The rearing of truly orphaned cubs may be taken over by other members of the fox family group.
How to spot
Foxes live in family groups. Male foxes, called dog foxes, are not much larger then cats weighing about 6.5kg and standing about 35cm at the shoulder. Female foxes, called vixens, are slightly smaller. Foxes are known for their bushy tail, which is often tipped with white. The fur is variable in colour, but is usually reddish-brown to flame-red above and white to black below; the lower limbs and the back of the ears are often black. During the spring and summer months they may look extremely scruffy as they moult. They hunt throughout the family territory.
Family groups
A dog fox and vixen producing one litter of about four cubs a year. It is also common for one or two other vixens to help raise the family - usually either the daughters or sisters of the breeding vixen. They communicate through calls, which may be very loud in the breeding season, scent marking, facial expressions, and body postures that are very similar to dogs.
Hunting
These opportunist feeders have a varied diet ranging from fruit to rats and mice. On average, discarded food forms a third of their diet. It is incorrect that foxes survive largely by raiding the contents of dustbins.
Where and when to see them
Foxes are usually most active at night time so are most often seen at dusk. You are likely to see them in quiet suburban areas, woodland, and even in your garden.
Fascinating factIn many cultures, the fox appears in folklore as a symbol of cunning and trickery, or as a familiar animal possessed of magic powers.