THE BRITISH RED FOX 



fight savagely amongst themselves. I have in my 

 possession the mask of a big dog fox, one ear of 

 which has been torn off, no doubt the result of 

 one of these battles. There is a popular belief 

 that a fox when carrying a bird, seizes it by the 

 neck, and swings the body over his shoulder. 

 I have not seen a fox do this, nor have I heard 

 of an authentic case. All the foxes which have 

 come under my observation behaved exactly as a 

 dog does, and seized their prey by the body. 

 The fact, already described, of foxes packing fur 

 and feather for easy transport altogether refutes 

 the theory so often represented in pictures and 

 nursery tales, of a fox with a goose or duck slung 

 over its shoiilder. 



Although the fox is a member of the family 

 Canidse, there is not, as far as I am aware, an 

 authentic case of a cross between dog and fox. 

 Instances of this supposed cross have been re- 

 corded from time to time, but on investigation 

 have proved doubtful. The wolf, jackal and dog 

 will interbreed, and it is said that certain of the 

 hybrids are fertile, therefore it seems reasonable 

 to suppose that the same thing might happen 

 in the case of dog and fox. 



Although the fox belongs to the dog family, 

 it is to some extent like a cat in appearance and 

 behaviour. Mention has previously been made 

 of the change in colour from blue-grey to amber 

 of the fox-cubs' eyes. The pupil of the eye of an 

 adult fox is not round like a dog's, but elliptical 

 like that of a cat. In daylight it shows only as 

 a narrow slit, but at night opens out to its full 

 extent. As the fox does most of its hunting under 

 cover of darkness, its eyes are therefore ad- 

 mirably adapted for the purpose. I have noticed 

 that very few taxidermists put the right kind of 

 eyes in their mounted fox masks. 



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