No. However, we do provide information foxes and practical guidance on deterring foxes. Foxes very rarely spread any diseases and live largely in harmony with man. They also help to control pests by preying on rats, mice and pigeons. Fox control is unsuccessful because foxes compensate for increases of mortality by increasing the number of vixens that breed. In the UK it is illegal to poison, gas, asphyxiate, maim, stab, impale, drown or club foxes.

Scientists have fitted more than 94 wild foxes with ultra-light radio collars to monitor their movement patterns and study how they interact with their habitat. Having a large proportion of the population collared allows us to closely track the survivorship and mortality rates and quickly adjust our management actions if necessary.

Repair any holes in your fences and don't leave food scraps outside. Try to keep your grounds well maintained to remove overgrown areas that could provide shelter and make a point of regularly watching for holes dug under your shed. No drainage questions should be referred to: Thames Water Utilities Limited PO Box 3189 Slough, SL1 4WW DX 151280 Slough 13

It was eradicated in Britain in 1922. However rabies is sometimes found in foxes elsewhere in Europe. The new Legislation does NOT apply to vehicles used for personal purposes; it is only relevant to drivers who use their car for business purposes or cars that are shared within a company. This is all in an attempt to prevent Passive Smoking

A group of foxes is a rare and lovely sight, beautiful to behold. But if you need something shorter for everyday conversation, a group of foxes is called a skulk.

If __________ is anything except 'fox' then the answer is No. Vulpines (foxes) look like dogs, wolves and coyotes, but they are distinctly different and share little or no common ancestry. Dogs, wolves and coyotes can (and do) interbreed. From a veterinary standpoint, foxes are more similar to housecats than to dogs. There are a number of dog breeds that look rather foxy.

We don't have exact specs on this, but tests indicate that foxes see about the same range of colors as dogs, meaning they have dichromatic color vision. Dogs lack the ability to see green, specifically, and apparently can't tell green from red or yellow. (This condition is found in humans, as well, and is the most common sort of "color blindness.

Definitely! It's not at the top of their Things To Do list, but foxes have no problems swimming a reasonable distance if the need is there. Yes and no. Red Fox fossils have been found in North America which date back thousands of years, long before Columbus (or the Vikings, either, if you're one of those people). However, these foxes tended to stay in the fields and forests of the Northwest and Midwest, and so were not common to the east coast where Europeans first settled.

Just about anything! Foxes are omnivores, and while they seem to prefer meat, they also go for nuts, berries, fruit of all sorts, vegetables, and even grains! Red Foxes who have decided to live near humans (for whatever reason) will eat pretty much anything a human will.

Not deliberately, at least. I suppose I can't help but be influenced by my own experiences and observations growing up, but I do try to create the FoxTrot storylines from scratch, rather than base them on what might have happened in my family. I am the oldest of four children (three boys, one girl) and it's true that there was a lot of FoxTrot-like chaos, but I think in general my characters are more extensions of me than my siblings or parents.

The National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service co-manage a captive-breeding program that has produced 75 fox pups since 2002. In 2006, biologists released 55 captive-born foxes into the wild. To date, only five have succumbed-two to natural causes, and three to golden eagle predation. There are currently 23 foxes in captivity. Our goal is to release them into the wild, provided conditions are safe, following the 2007 breeding season.top of page

The island fox is a descendant of the much larger mainland gray fox. The first foxes probably found their island home approximately 18,000 years ago by floating from the mainland on debris after a storm. The land mass where they landed-called Santarosae, about five to seven miles off the coast - consisted of what we now call Anacapa, San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands.

Bald eagles feed primarily on fish and carrion. They co-existed with island foxes for thousands of years before succumbing to DDT poisoning in the 1960s. Saving the island fox-and preserving Santa Cruz Island's flora, fauna and cultural resources-is a cooperative effort involving many partners. The island's two landowners-The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service-co-manage Santa Cruz Island as one ecological unit and are responsible for preserving its biological and cultural heritage.

You should make sure that items like chicken carcasses, bones and raw meat should be double wrapped in newspaper before being placed in the bag. You could also use a normal domestic dustbin and store the bags inside of the bin. The crew will then take the bags out of the bin on collection day. Remember, the refuse must be bagged up.

This is not our responsibility. We are not allowed to trap or kill foxes. However, we can send you a factsheet telling you what you can do to keep foxes out of your garden.

The main disease problem in foxes is Mange, this cannot be transmitted to humans or cats. In theory fox mange could be caught by dog, but in practice it doesn't. The UK has been completely rabies free for many years and there are well prepared contingency plans for deal with any possible outbreak.

Not if rubbish is kept in a secure lidded dustbin. With the lid closed, Brent's wheelie bins are completely fox-proof. Do not leave out additional waste in plastic bags. Keep this inside until the morning of you rubbish collection day.

No. Due to man's carelessness there is plenty of food available to foxes - even in the winter they do not go short of food. Leaving food out does however, help pests like rodents and these are far more of a problem for human beings.

Foxes use faeces to mark their territory. This may be prevented by following our advice on deterring foxes.

Foxes dig small holes to get at earthworms which they like to eat. Removing earthworms eliminates the problem. Products to control earthworms can be bought at garden centres. Foxes are naturally found in both urban and rural areas. However, because foxes are territorial, they rarely survive in new 'strange' areas. This also causes problems for foxes already present in that area.

No. The source is unknown. There are a number of possibilities: since distemper is always present, a weak strain could have mutated into a dangerous strain; or, something in the environment could have weakened the immune system of our fox, making the weakened distemper present deadly; or, a dog infected with distemper and brought to the Island could have been the source. We will never know for sure.

It is very rare to actually see a wolf in the wild, but other species, such as foxes and coyotes, are still common and may be mistaken for wolves at long distances. Some breeds of dog are very "wolf-like" and may also be mistaken for wolves if they are seen running loose. Foxes are much smaller than wolves - adult red foxes weigh only 10-14 pounds and are not much larger than house cats. They have slit pupils, like cats, so they are able to see well in the dark.

Depending on who you talk to, there are five or six varieties of foxes common to North America, and perhaps 23 species around the world. Getting back to Latin for a moment, the 14 foxes of the northern hemisphere are mostly of the genus Vulpes, while the 8 South American foxes are of the genus Pseudalopex (formerly Dusicyon); the African Bat-Eared Fox is species #23, genus Otocyon - but again, it depends on which authority you subscribe to.

Sadly, foxes have very weak eyesight which is mostly geared towards detecting movement. If you see a fox and stand very still, there is a fair chance the fox won't see you.

Foxes make a variety of sounds, from a high-pitched wail to a short, yipping bark, plus chuckles and "churrr"-type sounds. We don't have any recordings to share ourselves, but The Fox Forest does and the owner thereof has allowed us to link to his page. Click here and look for a menu item near the top titled Up Close, then select the drop-down item Voices Carry; There you can hear foxes in full voice. (Note: clicking the link will open a new browser.)

Pup We prefer Kit - but I suspect fox parents have their own names for their young, They've never asked us, so. You can call them Fred for all of us; it's the lexicologists who are responsible for such things in human terms. We suspect the male fox is more interested in what vixens want to call them, in any case.

Some do and some don't. Vixens turn romantic in the early winter, and the male fox will hang around until well after the kits are born. It is usually up to the vixen to raise the little tykes once they are on their feet, but the male fox will often be seen in the vicinity helping out one way or another (building decks, watching TV, going out for chips... that sort of thing).

The problem is the word 'pet.' Most people take it to mean a handy companion, a non-human buddy you can emotionally bond with, an animal you can keep in an apartment and drop off at a friend's house (or at the vet) when you want to go on vacation.

There are bunches of names for foxes in lots of different languages, and FoxWeb Friends have sent in a number of additions - many of them requiring specialized character sets that most Web browsers don't support. Native Americans apparently have as many names for foxes as there are tribes of Native Americans, so we've given up on that for the time being....