Red fox

붉은여우

The red fox is the most widespread wild carnivore on Earth. It can hear a mouse squeaking under snow and pounces from above, and research suggests it even uses Earth's magnetic field to aim its jumps.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Scottish Highlands, UK
Diet: Eats both plants and meat (omnivore)
Weight: about 6 kg
Length: about 1.1 m
Top speed: about 48 km/h
Lifespan: up to about 15 years
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN LC)
Habitat: forests, grasslands, mountains, towns & cities

Quick answers

Where does the Red fox live?

It lives in forests, grasslands, mountains, towns & cities. On the globe you can find it near Scottish Highlands, UK.

How big is the Red fox?

It grows to about 1.1 m and 6 kg.

What does the Red fox eat?

Its diet: eats both plants and meat (omnivore).

How fast is the Red fox?

It can reach about 48 km/h.

How long does the Red fox live?

It can live up to about 15 years.

Is the Red fox endangered?

It is listed as Least Concern (IUCN LC).

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes and the most widely spread wild meat-eating mammal on Earth. It lives across the whole Northern Hemisphere, in most of North America, Europe and Asia and in parts of North Africa. Despite its name, some red foxes are black, silver or almost white.

Red foxes eat mostly small rodents, but they also catch rabbits, squirrels, birds, reptiles and insects, and they eat fruit. They usually live in pairs or small family groups, and young foxes may stay on to help raise the next kits. They are very good at adapting, so many now live in towns and cities. The IUCN rates the species as Least Concern.

A fox almost everywhere

The red fox first appeared in Eurasia around 400,000 years ago and later spread into North America. Forty-five subspecies are recognised. In the nineteenth century people brought the red fox to Australia for hunting, and it now harms native small mammals and birds, so it is on the list of the world's 100 worst invasive species. In Britain it is simply called the fox, because it is the only native fox in Western Europe.

The Korean fox

The Korean subspecies of the red fox once lived all over the Korean peninsula. Hunting, forest loss, rat poison, disease and traffic made it very rare, and in South Korea it is now protected as a Class 1 endangered species. Male foxes are called tods or dogs, females are vixens and the young are cubs or kits. Red foxes have hunting skills that include hearing a mouse moving under the snow and pouncing on it from above.

Fun facts

It can hear a mouse moving under the snow and pounces on it from above.
The red fox has the largest range of any member of the order Carnivora.
Foxes in Russia have been bred over generations for tameness, giving the domesticated silver fox.
A male fox is called a tod and a female a vixen.