Bring an animal unit in your homeschool to life by teaching about foxes. Keep reading to learn some fun facts about foxes.
Basic Facts about Foxes
Foxes are mammals. The most well-known foxes have reddish-brown fur, a white chest, and a fluffy tail.
A baby fox is called a kit, pup, or cub.
They are predators.
Foxes have a den.
They are sly.
Keep reading to find out some fun facts about foxes.
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Fun Facts about Foxes
1. When the Opportunity Comes, Foxes Will Take It
The first of the fun facts about foxes is that they are opportunity feeders.
They aren’t strictly carnivores. If they find a patch of berries, they will eat them.
A nest of eggs is another opportunity for a meal that a fox won’t pass up.
2. There Are 23 Different Species of Foxes
The smallest species of fox is the fennec fox which is native to Africa.
The adult fennec fox’s maximum size is 7.9 inches tall and 3.5 pounds.
The largest species of fox is the red fox. This is also the most widespread species of fox.
The adult red fox can grow to 31 pounds and stands 20 inches tall.
3. Foxes Jump When Hunting
When it comes time to take down prey, a fox will pounce on the animal.
However, falling hard onto the prey stuns the prey and allows the fox to make the kill.
4. Males Bring Meals to the Den for the New Mom
Talk about room (den?) service. When a female fox gives birth to the kits, the male fox will bring meals to the den for the female.
The female won’t leave the den until the kits are three months old and are weaned from their mother’s milk.
This is one of the most heartwarming fun facts about foxes.
5. Foxes Have a Short Life
In the wild, foxes only live between two and four years old.
However, in captivity, a fox can live for at least double that— anywhere from 10 to 21 years!
6. Foxes Belong to the Canidae Family
The canidae family is the same classification family as dogs.
This means that despite foxes having some attributes similar to cats, like sensitive whiskers and being active at night, they are more closely related to dogs.
7. Baby Foxes are Born Deaf and Blind
It is no wonder that the female foxes don’t leave the den with the newborn babies.
The kits are unable to see or hear when they are born.
If they were to leave the den, it would undoubtedly end in a disaster, and one of the kits would be lost.
8. Gray Foxes Can Climb Trees
Because they have hooked, semi-retractable claws, the gray fox can climb a tree.
This is helpful when looking to raid a nest, seek out fruit, or escape threats like coyotes.
9. A Group of Foxes is Called A Skulk
Although foxes are solitary animals, the family unit sticks together when it comes to mating season and raising baby foxes.
When this happens, there is a group of foxes.
Skulk comes from a Scandinavian word, meaning to lurk or move stealthily.
10. Foxes Bring Rough Play to A New Level
Fox babies (cubs, pups, or kits) are notorious for roughhousing.
It helps to create a necessary social structure. Animal behaviorists have watched many hours of infrared footage to see how the pup plays.
It is noted that the roughhousing between the pups can get to a point where one of the five pups doesn’t make it.
This doesn’t seem to be one of the fun facts about foxes — it is much too sad.
So we’ll settle with calling it an interesting fact about foxes.
Read More About Foxes
Exploring the World of Foxes by Traci C. Read
Vivid images are paired with fun facts about foxes to bring the information being shared to life.
Written in picture book form, this book will appeal to even the youngest learners.
All Things Foxes for Kids: Filled With Plenty of Facts, Photos, and Fun to Learn All About Foxes by Animal Reads
Simple writing and colorful photographs draw in the reader.
Fun facts about foxes are shared throughout the book and make learning fun.
All About Red Foxes: An Animal Facts Book for Kids by Abby Quinn
This book focuses on the red fox. It contains images and interesting facts about foxes, like their diet, hunting techniques, and habitat.
National Geographic Readers: Foxes by Laura Marsh
This book is part of the National Geographic Kids leveled reader collection and will surely be informative and engaging.
With many different text features like sidebars, captions, and bolded words, this read is informative and an excellent resource for teaching nonfiction text elements.
Interesting Facts about Foxes
As cunning and sly as they can be, there are still many interesting facts about foxes. The way they parent and hunt is only the beginning.