The Red Fox 



Vulpes fiil'va 



The red fox is generally distributed over the 

 State, being common in even the southwestern counties, 

 although it seems most numerous in the mountainous 

 sections. It is larger than the gray fox and, unlike 

 the latter, it does not climb. It is about three feet long 

 and stands about thirteen inches high. The tail is more 

 than a foot long and it uses it to good advantage when 

 sleeping. The nose is bare, while the rest of the body 

 is covered with fur. When the fox sleeps, it makes a 

 bed of leaves and curls up, drawing its tail around 

 itself and covering its snout. This prevents the nose 

 from being frostbitten. 



The red fox is considered the keener of our two 

 species and its fur is the more valuable. From the 

 author's observations, it seems to be more abundant 

 than the gray fox, although the present bounty on the 

 gray fox is higher than that paid for the red fox 

 The red fox is more cunning, faster, and has more 

 endurance than the gray fox. 



The red fox does not climb trees and usually 

 nests in an earthen burrow where it bears from five to 

 ten young in early April. The male attends the female 

 during the breeding season, which begins in February, 

 and carries food to her until after the young have been 

 born. 



The red fox is a bright reddish yellow above and 

 white underneath. The legs and feet are very dark, 

 sometimes being almost black. The males and females 

 are alike and there is no seasonal variation. The ears 

 are erect and pointed, and the tail is tipped with white. 

 There are five toes on the fore feet and four on the hind 



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