BRITISH MAMMALS 



night, and although it may occasionally be seen during 



the hours of daylight, it does not seem to hunt except 



under cover of darkness. 



Sometimes it excavates an " earth " unaided, but it 



will take up its quarters in the disused burrows of a 



Rabbit and enlarge the apartment, or it will share the 



same abode as the cleanly Badger. The Fox is untidy 



in its home life, and various garbage is to be discovered 



wherever its haunts are found. Occasionally it rears its 



cubs above ground in the stub of a tree, or under the 



crevice of a rock or large boulder, but it is mostly a dweller 



below the soil, only appearing above the surface when the 



pangs of hunger necessitate a hunt. It is a solitary 



animal, though both dog and vixen are much attached 



to each other, and much care is bestowed upon the pretty 



cubs, which are dressed in a dark, fluffy coat, and have 



snub noses. They are born blind during the early days 



of Spring. The adult Fox is reddish in colour, with 



some grey. On the under-parts and tip of the tail it is 



white. The head and legs are marked with black. 



Length about forty-eight inches, including the fine 



brushy tail. It is said that this prominent appendage 



is sometimes used for the purpose of attracting prey, 



the Fox lying down on the ground and waving its brush 



so effectively as to attract other animals, more out of 



curiosity than anything else. When within pouncing 



distance there is little chance of escape for the unwary 



victim that has approached. Possessed of keen powers 



of scent and hearing, capable of great endurance, and 

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