Thinking Citizen Blog — What about Foxes? Endangered? Invasive?
Thinking Citizen Blog — Wednesday is Climate Change, the Environment, and Sustainability Day
Today’s Topic: What about Foxes? Endangered? Invasive?
Endangered? Invasive? Well, as with so much, it depends. In Nevada, the “Sierra Nevada red fox” was recently granted endangered species protection. But in Australia the fox is considered a horrific invasive species and, for that reason is included in the list of “100 of the World’s Most Invasive Species.” Amazingly, “it’s range has increased alongside human expansion” and has “colonized many urban and suburban areas.” Today, a few notes on this wonderful species with such a prominent place in both folklore (eg. Aesop’s the Fox and the Grapes or the Fox and the Crow) and song (“The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night”). Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
VULPES (“true foxes”) only 12 species as opposed to pseudo-foxes (another 11 species)
1. “True foxes” are a “clade” within the genus, Canis. Other clades: dogs, wolves, jackals, coyotes.
2. Distinguishing features: smaller size (5–10 kg), longer bushier tail, flatter skull.
3. By far the most wide ranging species is the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) — found in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
NB: Pictured above is the Arctic Fox (“vulpes lagopus”) whose life expectancy is usually about a year. “Its body length ranges from 46 to 68 cm (18 to 27 in), with a generally rounded body shape to minimize the escape of body heat.” The Arctic Fox is my candidate for most photogenic fox. But, honestly, it’s a tough call.
FOX HUNTING, PEST CONTROL, THE AUSTRALIAN MENACE
1. After flourishing for 500 years, fox hunting was banned in England and Wales in 2005 (but with exemptions). It remains legal in the United States, France, Canada, Australia and Ireland.
2. Fox kills for “pest control” in Germany are estimated to be 600,000 per year, in Austria 58,000, Finland, 56,000.
3. “In 2021 Israel became the first country in the world to ban real fur sales.” In 2019, California became the first US state to do so, with cities such as Los Angeles, and San Francisco leading the way.
NB: In Australia, the red fox is “considered to be a threat to at least 14 species of birds, 48 mammals, 12 reptiles and two amphibians. Listed as critically endangered are the: orange-bellied parrot, spotted quail-thrush (from Mt Lofty Ranges), herald petrel, Gilbert’s potoroo, and the western swamp tortoise. Foxes are thought to have played a major part in the demise and extinction of many ground-dwelling native species in the last 130 years.”
PREDATORS AND PREY — whom do they eat? who eats them?
1. Predators: wolves, coyotes, jackals, eagles, owls, large cats.
2. Prey: squirrels, rabbits, birds, reptiles, baby deer, baby sheep.
3. The average lifespan of a red fox in the wild is three years. In captivity can live up to 33 years.
FOOTNOTE — “The Fox” (folk song)
1. If you don’t know it, check it out. An old favorite of mine. See last four links below.
2. Countless versions available.
3. Below you can find three versions: Burl Ives, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Odetta.
NB: If you have time for just one, my suggestion would be Odetta’s — the very last link.
How Many Foxes are Left in the World? | Pet Keen
100 of the World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species — Wikipedia
Red foxes in Australia — Wikipedia
https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-animals/priority-pest-animals/red-fox
What is fox hunting and why was it banned?
Red Fox | Chesapeake Bay Program
North American fur trade — Wikipedia
The Fox and the Grapes — Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Crow_(Aesop)
23 Types of Foxes and Where to See Them in the Wild
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_(folk_song)
A LINK TO THE LAST FOUR YEARS OF POSTS ORGANIZED BY THEME:
PDF with headlines — Google Drive
ATTACHMENTS BELOW -
#2 “Justice — A Graphic Guide” (Nine metaphors)
YOUR TURN
Please share the coolest thing you learned in the last week related to climate change or the environment. Or the coolest, most important thing you learned in your life related to climate change that the rest of us may have missed. Your favorite chart or table perhaps…
This is your chance to make some one’s day. Or to cement in your own mind something that you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply than otherwise about something dear to your heart.
