The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a member of the dog family.  It has a pointed face and ears and a long, bushy tail.  It is larger than the arctic fox and lives in more southern ranges.  However, the red fox is an adaptable animal and some have extended their range into areas where the arctic fox is found.  The red fox is a small animal, weighing 3.0 to 7.0 kg.  It is about 100 cm long with its tail accounting for almost half this length.

The fur industry often refers to red foxes as coloured foxes because the red fox has three separate colour phases. The red phase is most common and occurs in 45 to 75 per cent of the population.  These foxes are reddish-brown with a white chest, abdomen and tip of the tail.  They have black hairs on their legs and down their backs. The cross fox is grey-brown in colour with black hairs across the shoulders, which form a "cross."  This second phase constitutes 20 to 44 per cent of the red fox population in Canada.  Silver foxes are black with a white tip of the tail and a variable amount of silver frosting on the guard hairs.  The silver phase occurs in only 2 to 17 per cent of red foxes.  All colour phases can occur in the same litter.

Red foxes are shy, nervous animals, which are most active at night.  They have acute hearing and a keen sense of smell.  They run with a quick, airy gait, leaving paw prints in a line in the snow.

Our thanks to the Government of the Northwest Territories of Canada