Wolf Park - Foxes

Foxes

The red fox is a distant cousin to the wolf, much smaller and with a much more varied diet, range of behavior, and habitat. The red fox is so variable, in fact, that it holds the distinction of being the most widely distributed species of canid, inhabiting regions as diverse as desert and tundra. Of course, it can also be found in urban areas, where, along with the coyote, it lives cautiously alongside man.

Red foxes are commonly "farmed" for fur, and you can see the effects of partial domestication in our captive-bred animals: most obviously, a phenomenally thick fur coat. Red foxes — or, rather, the silver color phase of red foxes " are the subjects of the benchmark study of the process of domestication, the Russian "farm fox experiment" which showed how artificial (human-directed) selection for a single trait could cause unintended and unexpected changes in other traits.

Red foxes are a relative of the wolf which still lives wild in Indiana. Wolf Park's ambassador red foxes demonstrate the differences between foxes and wolves (and coyotes), as well as providing insight into the range of behavior and physiology inherent in the canid family.

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