The Stealthy World of Foxes: Nature’s Nimble Hunters

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There are not many animals keener than foxes. They are nimble, patient, and use impressive stealth tactics to hunt prey. Though foxes typically live 3-4 years in the wild, they can live up to 10 years in captivity, spending their lifetimes as sly, effective hunters.

Thanks to their adaptability and omnivorous diet, foxes live on every continent in the world except Antarctica. The most common variation is the red fox, which features 45 subspecies under its crimson umbrella.

Despite their cuteness and dexterity, foxes and humans have a contentious relationship. We often consider them pests since they eat small domesticated animals like chickens and other livestock. Despite this interspecies tension, foxes adapt well to any environment including urban areas. How do they manage this? Watch the video above, and we will explore the topic further.

Adaptable Diets

Thanks to their omnivorous diet, foxes can eat almost anything smaller than them. Typically, their diet consists of insects, reptiles, and birds. In different climates, foxes adapt to the fauna around them. For example, South American Crab-Eating Foxes typically hunt readily available crustaceans and tortoises.

Scientists estimate that red foxes need just over a pound of food per day. If they have a surplus of food from successful hunts, foxes often store the excess under leaves or soil. To acquire all this food, foxes rely on a characteristic pouncing technique called “mousing”.

The video above shows how a fox crouches down to camouflage itself before springing up using its hind legs and landing right on target. Gymnastics is one thing, but how do foxes use their other senses to hunt so effortlessly?

Eyes Made for Movement

Foxes have incredible adaptations that allow for hunting small game. Foxes can hunt at any time day or night. For a further boost to their sight, they have vertically slit pupils which allow for binocular vision. These not only help them hunt across a variety of light conditions but also allow foxes to focus on horizontal movement acutely.

Their vertical pupils feature a considerable amount of rod cells, which help foxes hunt in even the dimmest of light. The downside is that foxes are relatively short-sighted. Research suggests that foxes can’t pick up details very well or stationary objects, but are finely attuned for even the smallest movement.

Keen Like a Fox

Unlike other canids like dogs, foxes don’t favor their sense of smell to find prey. They prioritize vision and hearing. They have two independently mobile ears, which can turn up to 150 degrees in a single direction. Fox ears fuse to their skulls through a porous chamber called the tympanic bulla, which helps them hear low-frequency sounds made by small prey. They also rely on sound for communication, interfacing with other foxes over long and short distances.

Foxes furthermore rely on tactile senses to find their next meal, particularly with their whiskers. They have long, stiff whiskers on their muzzles and forelegs known as vibrissae. This provides important information for foxes regarding their body position when hunting. Much like cats and dogs, foxes have very sensitive foot pads. These help them expertly navigate uncertain terrain like thin fences and tree branches.

Second Sight

Perhaps the most fascinating tool in the fox’s arsenal is its preternatural sense of electromagnetism. A study published in 2011 by biologists at the Czech University of Life Sciences and the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany suggests that foxes might be able to see the earth’s geomagnetic field and use it to find prey.

According to the paper, “mousing red foxes may use the magnetic field as a ‘range finder’ or targeting system to measure the distance to its prey and thus increase the accuracy of predatory attacks.” Put simply, foxes see true magnetic north as a shadowy ring over their field of vision. When they line this up with the rustling of prey, it helps them figure out how far away their next meal might be.

No wonder foxes are such good hunters!