CROATIAN FAUNA - FOX

FOX (Vulpes vulpes L.) Fox (Vulpes vulpes L.) belongs to the order of beasts, family of dogs. It represents small fur game. Its height up to the withers is about 40 cm, the length of the body to the tail is 60 to 70 cm and especially prominent is the fluffy tail up to 40 cm long. It weights from 6 to 10 kg. The fur is red-brown and the jawl, belly and the tip of the tail are white. It has very well developed hearing and sense of smell and not so well-developed sense of sight. The olfactory glands are on paws and under the tail, and the „violet” gland is on the upper side of the tail, which is especially active at mating time and gives off a smell which reminds of violets. It feeds mainly on tiny rodents (mice, voles), small hairy and feather animals, roe deer fawn, and domestic feather animals. Fox, being a beast and thus primarily oriented on the food of animal origin (meat eater), is actually omnivore because it very often consumes fruit and grapes. It is active mainly by night. It mates in February and after 52 +/- 3 days of pregnancy whelps 4 – 8 and more rarely up to 12 pups. It has one brood per year. It mates and whelps mainly in its lair, underground lodging which it most often usurps from the badger. During lactation period and while the pups are still in liar fox is very active in collecting food (prey) and it is when it causes most damage. In order to prepare the pups for independent life, fox often brings live prey. It plays an important role in the ecosystem as a sanitarian since it reduces numerous small rodents and sick small game. The family is composed of a male, female and their young - pups. The fox is the main reservoir of rabies, and there is danger that this disease is passed on to people and domestic animals. Besides mange, rabies is one of the main reducers of fox population in nature. Among predators who represent danger for fox in woodland areas are wolf and lynx and in lowlands jackal. Fox can be found in the whole territory of mainland Croatia and even on some islands. The estimated number of foxes in Croatia is about 13.000 animals. Marijan Grubešić