The red fox, or Vulpes vulpes, has a varied diet. Foxes that live in or near urban areas frequently scavenge food from human sources, from garbage piles to farms. The Vulpes vulpes can be found throughout the mainland United States as well as in Canada, Asia, Europe and Australia.
Significance
In urban areas, red foxes mostly consume scavenged meat, though they will also scavenge crops and fruit. The foxes that are closer to urban centers tend to consume more meat to eat than those in the outlying areas. About three-fourths of the foxes' food supply comes from garbage and compost. Fruits and berries and food provisions for birds and pets contribute as well. The diet of foxes in urban areas is somewhat seasonal as well, with the foxes consuming more birds, invertebrates such as crickets and cultivated food crops in the summer, according to a study published in Mammalian Biology.
Geography
Aside from farmland, the red fox also makes its home in prairies and wooded areas. Vulpes vulpes that live in the woods and prairies eat small mammals, but invertebrates like grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars and crayfish make up a large part of the animals' diet as do earthworms. This fox also consumes grasses, berries and fruits in the wild.
Features
Vulpes vulpes that live in the wild prefer to consume small mammals such as squirrels, mice and rabbits, notes Paolo Cavallini and Teresa Volpi, authors of a study published in Wildlife Biology. However, insects are what they eat most frequently in the wild. This fox is an opportunist, so it will change what it eats based on what food is most readily available, according to the International Union Office Gamay Biologists Report by author Nikola Botev.
Considerations
The Vulpes vulpes will keep hunting and scavenging food even if it is full. It will store its extra food under dirt, snow or leaves, according to New Hampshire Public Television.
Methodology
People study the Vulpes vulpes diet by examining its stomach contents, the contents of the foxes' intestines and by examining the animals' feces. However, if you compare studies of foxes' stomachs and intestines you might not be comparing apples to apples because of the digestive process. More matter from birds will show up in the stomach than the intestines or feces, for example, say Cavallini and Volpi.
References
- "Mammalian Biology"; The diet of urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and the availability of anthropogenic food in the city of Zurich, Switzerland; P. Contesse et al.; 2004
- New Hampshire Public Television: Red Fox -- Vulpes vulpes
- "Wildlife Biology": Biases in the Analysis of the Diet of the Red Fox Vulpes Vulpes Paolo Cavallini and Teresa Volpi; 1995
- International Union Office Gamay Biologists Report; Nikola Botev; 1996
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