THE DOG FAMILY— FOX. 



237 



The Fox Has The Fox has a number of enemies 



Other than Human besides Man. Not only does the 



Enemies. Wolf catch and devour him, but 



Dogs also have so great a grudge against him that 



they will tear him to pieces. It is a remarkable 



fact that female Foxes suckling young are often 



THE RED FOX. The animal which in America nearest represents the Master Reynard of 



tradition is the Red Fox, a very cunning animal and an inveterate Chicken-thief like his European 

 cousin. His depredations often get him into trouble, and traps are set for him like that which holds 

 fast the animal shown in the picture. ( Vulpes fulvus.) 



spared by male Dogs, or not pursued at all. Other 

 mammals can not harm Reynard; but he has several 

 very dangerous enemies among the birds. A Hawk 

 carries young Foxes away without hesitation, while 

 the Eagle will even attack the adult, though it some- 

 times fares badly enough in doing so. Tschudi 

 relates such a case: "A Fox which 

 was running over a glacier, was 

 seized by an Eagle and lifted high 

 up in the air. Soonthe robber be- 

 gan to flutter its wings in a strange 

 way and was lost from sight be- 

 hind a peak of the mountain. The 

 observer mounted the summit, 

 when, to his surprise, the Fox 

 darted past him like an arrow; on 

 the other side he found the Eagle 

 with a lacerated breast. The Fox 

 had succeeded in craning his neck, 

 seizing the predaceous bird by the 

 throat and biting it through. Con- 

 tentedly he limped away, though 

 the memory of the fearful voyage 

 through the air probably clung to 

 him for life." 



Among other classes of animals 

 the Fox has no enemies which 

 could be dangerous to him, but he 

 has some which greatly annoy him, 

 namely, Fleas. There is a story to 

 the effect that he takes a careful 

 bath with the result of driving 

 them to a bundle of moss which 

 he carries in his mouth, and then gets rid of the un- 

 welcome guests by throwing the bundle away. 



It has been proven that the Fox shares all the 

 diseases of the Dog and is also subject to the 

 dreaded hydrophobia. Instances are known where 

 this fearful disease has driven him in broad daylight 



into villages, where he bit every living thing that 

 crossed his path. 

 The Red Fox ^° c ' ose 'y allied to the Common Fox of Europe 

 an American is tne Red * ox ( Vul P es fulvus) of North Amer- 

 Species ' ca> tnat man y naturalists regard it as being 

 only a variety of the common species. There 

 are differences, however, which serve to distinguish the Ameri- 

 can from the European animal, for it is 

 somewhat larger, has a longer and softer 

 fur which is more brilliant in color, has a 

 narrower head and a less extended muz- 

 zle than the Common Fox. Its total length 

 is about forty-eight inches, the tail taking 

 up about eighteen inches of this meas- 

 urement. This Fox shows much greater 

 variation in its coloring than the Euro- 

 pean species. The usual color is a yel- 

 lowish red over the greater part of the 

 body, merging into a grizzly yellow on the 

 buttocks, while a narrow white stripe ex- 

 tends under the body for almost the entire 

 length, and the hairs of the tail are tipped 

 with black. But in addition to this color- 

 ing there are others so different as to 

 have inclined some writers to separate 

 the animals bearing them into distinct 

 species, although the better authorities 

 regard them as being only varieties of the 

 Red Fox. One of these is the Cross Fox, 

 with the same yellowish red general color, 

 but having black legs and muzzle, and a 

 blacker tail than the ordinary type of Red 

 Fox; and a still more striking feature is 

 the distinct cross formed by two black 

 stripes, one between the shoulders and 

 the other at right angles with it extending 

 from the neck across the shoulders. The 

 Silver Fox or Black Fox, which is very 

 scarce, forms another variety, the overhair 

 of which is thick and fine, three inches long, and varying in 

 color from pale silver to bluish black, but the tail is tipped 

 with white. Usually the fur is given a hoary appearance by 

 the admixture of white tipped hairs with those entirely black. 

 " The fur of the Silver Fox," says M. M. Backus, who is an 

 excellent authority, "is fine and curly; its beauty places it at 

 the head of all fancy furs; the tail is a royal brush. These furs 



THE KIT FOX. This is an American species of Fox, much smaller in size than either the 



Red or Gray Foxes, and having proportionately longer limbs than either of them. He is known by 

 several other names, among which are the Swift Fox and the Burrowing Fox. The back is a pure gray 

 and the under parts are white. It is an inhabitant of the northwestern states. (Vulpes velox.) 



are used for muffs, boas and linings of robes, and bring from 

 fifty to two hundred dollars each." A large form of the Red 

 Fox, found in Utah, has been named the Long-tailed Fox 

 ( Vulpes macrurus) but is believed to be only a local variety 

 and not a distinct species. In some other sections Red Foxes 

 with peculiar markings are sometimes found, but these, bear- 

 ing different local names, are similar in structure and habits. 



