Vulpes Vulpes; A Crafty Beast

I am certain that most all of us have heard of the, "sly old fox". When I was describing the fox snake it never occurred to me that my grandson might not "get" the clue, because we do not often read or talk about how sly and sneaky that the fox really is. The Fox is a tremendous hunter, this photo was taken on Hwy 51 just south of Hazelhurst, WI; we never left the car. My brother-in-law David, loves this part of Wisconsin and would like to live there someday...I hope he does.


This is from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website; EEK for Kids. http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/mammal/redfox.htm

"You can find foxes all over Wisconsin, especially in the southern, central and western parts of the state. Fox families each have their own clearly marked home ranges that they defend from intruders, but they don’t usually fight. A group chase or a “threat display”—charging, growling, etc.—will generally do the trick. A fox family has a hunting range of about 150-400 acres, but in less diverse habitats, like farmland, one family might need up to 2-3 square miles. Can you think of reasons why this might be?

Red foxes don’t live in dens most of the year, but do set up nurseries in abandoned badger or woodchuck burrows when it’s time to have babies. Male and female foxes breed in mid-January and have 5 or 6 pups in mid-March. Young foxes are called kits. They start hunting with their parents when they’re 3 months old, and are ready to strike out on their own after only 7-8 months."

A couple of years ago we were in a small town in south western Wisconsin near LaCrosse called Cashton. In this area there are beautiful rolling hills and very deep valleys caused by the glaciers during the Ice Age...(no comment). The area is beautiful and near the Cashton area is an Amish community, and in this community there are families that sell things like furniture, bakery, baskets and quilts. It was a very interesting day. But as we were driving we came across a small Red Fox that must have rolled down the hill and landed in the mud. It was raining, the road was very curvy, as we rounded a corner we found this little guy shaking and weaving in the middle of the road. It was sort of sad but we did not want to take any chances, so we left him as we found him.


What a cute little "Crafty Beast".

Fox hunting (Hazelhurst, WI)

This fox was hurt (Hazelhurst, WI)