Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
 Red foxes are curious animals, indicating intelligence.
Appearance: small dog-like animal, adult weight is 8-14 pounds; total length is 3-4 feet (12-17 inches of which is tail); body is reddish yellow; feet, legs ears and nose pad are black; terminal 4-5 inches of tail are black tipped with white; it has 42 teeth; eyes are yellow with elliptical pupils
Reproduction: breed in late winter or early spring, 53 days gestation, 2-10 per litter, both male and female raise the young, weaned at 2 months Food habits: small mammals such as rats, mice, and rabbits, insects, wild birds, young livestock (as carrion), fruits, berries, grasshoppers, snakes Habits: keen sense of sight, hearing and smell; shy, easily startled; great endurance (can run for miles); playful; they do not chew food, rather tear pieces off and swallow whole; bury their left over food; mark their territory through urination 
Distribution: throughout Louisiana, except extreme southeast parishes; ranges from northern Canada and Alaska to the southern U.S., except Arizona, southern Texas, e xtreme SE Atlantic coast, the GreatBasin, the Great Plains, and coastal western Canada
Habitat: mixed wooded areas with ungrazed pastures, ricefields, canefields, and chenier of the SW coastal marshes; makes a den in stream banks or gullies Controls: vulnerable to diseases such as parvo and mange (which is caused by mites) Values: contribute to the overall health of prey species by keeping the species controlled; they are vulnerable to rabies, which can then infect pets & men |
