4 CIRCULAR 8, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



BREEDING HABITS 



The breeding and rearing season of foxes extends from February 

 through May. The gestation period is about 51 days. There are 4 

 to 10 young (average 5) in a litter, and normally there is only 1 litter 

 a year. 



"The den is usually in a burrow dug in the ground, but may be m a 

 hollow log or under rocks. No nesting material is provided. The 

 pups are ready to come to the entrance of the den when 5 weeks old, 

 and generally abandon the home den when 8 to 10 weeks of age. 



FOOD HABITS 



All species of foxes feed mainly on rabbits, hares, ground squirrels, 

 mice, poultry, birds, and insects. Their next choice is such fruits as 

 grapes, figs, dates, and wild berries. In addition, the gray fox takes 

 fishes and the desert fox reptiles, forms the red fox does not often eat. 

 Foxes may at times become very destructive to turkeys, chickens, and 

 lambs. In July 1944, in Yamhill County, Oreg., they killed 205 tur- 

 keys and 104 chickens on 4 ranches. During the year 1944, in Louisi- 

 ana, 1,379 head of livestock were reported as lost through fox depreda- 

 tions. Other States at the present time are having similar losses. 



RABIES AMONG FOXES 



Since 1940 several outbreaks of rabies have occurred among foxes in 

 Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Maryland. 

 In Burke County, Ga., in 1940, many people were bitten by rabid foxes, 

 and livestock suffered heavy losses before the outbreak was suppressed. 

 In Clarke County, Ala., in 1944, there was an outbreak of rabies among 

 foxes, in the suppression of which during 3% months 1,188 foxes were 

 taken in an area of 1,216 square miles. This degree of fox population 

 is too great for the good of the foxes or the community. During that 

 period 15 people in the county took the Pasteur treatment, and the 

 losses of cattle, horses, mules, hogs, and goats were heavy for that 

 area. Suppressive measures have been necessary in other States where 

 rabid foxes have been found. During 1944 in 12 counties and parishes 

 of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas, in which rabies was present 

 among foxes, 405 domestic animals, valued at $28,295, were bitten and 

 died. Ninety-eight people were bitten and took the Pasteur treatment. 



FUR QUALITIES 



The fur of the red fox is of much better quality than that of the kit 

 and the gray foxes. The silver and cross foxes of the red group, which 

 are found mostly on fur farms, are especially valued for their novel 

 colors. In areas where it is necessary to reduce the number of foxes 

 because of economic losses or the presence of rabies among them, the 

 foxes should be trapped heavily, if possible, during the period when the 

 fur is prime, which is generally from November through January in' 

 the Northern States and from December through January in the South. 

 These periods usually fall within the open seasons for taking foxes in 

 those States that have regulations for the protection of these animals. 



