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fox

fox

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

fox carnivorous mammal of the dog family, found throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere. It has a pointed face, short legs, long, thick fur, and a tail about one half to two thirds as long as the head and body, depending on the species. Solitary most of the year, foxes do not live in dens except in the breeding season; they sleep concealed in grasses or thickets, their tails curled around them for warmth. During the breeding season a fox pair establishes a den, often in a ground burrow made by another animal, in which the young are raised; the male hunts for the family. The young are on their own after about five months; the adults probably find new mates each season.

Foxes feed on insects, earthworms, small birds and mammals, eggs, carrion, and vegetable matter, especially fruits. Unlike other members of the dog family, which run down their prey, foxes usually hunt by stalking and pouncing. They are known for their raids on poultry but are nonetheless very beneficial to farmers as destroyers of rodents.

Foxes are occasionally preyed upon by larger carnivores, such as wolves and bobcats, as well as by humans and their dogs; birds of prey may capture the young. Despite extensive killing of foxes, most species continue to flourish. In Europe this is due in part to the regulatory laws passed for the benefit of hunters. Mounted foxhunting, with dogs, became popular in the 14th cent. and was later introduced into the Americas; special hunting dogs, called foxhounds, have been bred for this sport. Great Britain banned foxhunting in which the hounds kill the fox in 2005.

Types of Foxes

Most fox species belong to the red fox group, genus Vulpes. The common red fox, Vulpes vulpes, is found in Eurasia, N Africa, and North America. It is hunted for its valuable fur and, especially in England, for sport. An extremely wary animal, it is skilled at evading traps and dodging pursuers. There are many local varieties; European red foxes are larger than those of North America, which average about 23 in. (58 cm) in body length, stand about 16 in. (41 cm) at the shoulder, and weigh about 5 to 10 lb (2.3–4.6 kg). North American red foxes inhabit areas of forest mixed with open country, from the Arctic Ocean to the S United States. Although most active at night, they are also seen by day. Coat color varies, but the tail is always tipped with white, and the legs, feet, and tips of the ears are always black. The rest of the coat is commonly reddish; black, silver, and cross (reddish, with a dark, cross-shaped region on back and shoulders) are among variations that may appear in any red fox litter. Silver fox pelts, black with white-tipped outer hairs, are much in demand; many are derived from animals raised on fox farms. From the silver fox, breeders have developed a platinum fox, whose pale gray pelt is highly valued, and (in Siberia) a tame, domesticated breed.

The kit and swift foxes ( V. velox and V. macrotis, respectively) are small, swift, pale gray or yellowish foxes, found on the deserts and plains of the W United States and N Mexico. Their numbers have been greatly diminished by trapping and poisoning, and they are now rare in many parts of their range. Other Vulpes species are found in Asia and Africa.

The gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus, is a New World species; it is the only fox that sometimes climbs trees. Found from the N United States to N South America, this fox is slightly larger, on the average, than the North American red fox. Its coat is salt-and-pepper above and buff-colored below; the upper side of its tail is black. Gray foxes inhabit woods, swamps, and brushy areas that afford them cover; they are more retiring and more strictly nocturnal in their habits than red foxes. Their fur is of little value.

The arctic fox, Alopex lagopus, is found on arctic coasts and islands; it has a circumpolar distribution. Characterized by short, rounded ears and heavily furred feet, all arctic foxes are brown to gray in summer; some turn pure white in winter, while others, called blue foxes, turn bluish gray. The blue fox, a natural variant that is more common in some areas than in others, is highly valued for its pelt, and breeders have developed all-blue strains. Although their diet includes small animals and plant matter, arctic foxes are chiefly scavengers, feeding especially on the remains of polar bears' kills.

The smallest fox is the fennec, or desert fox ( Fennecus zerda ), of the Sahara and Arabian deserts. An excellent burrower, it has enormous ears and a fluffy pale cream coat. Other foxes (sometimes called zorros) are found in South America.

Classification

Foxes are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Canidae.

Bibliography

See H. G. Lloyd, The Red Fox (1980); J. D. Henry, Red Fox: The Catlike Canine (1986).

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fox

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

fox the fox is proverbial for its artfulness and cunning; in Ben Jonson's play, the miser who deceives those around him with promises of wealth is named Volpone (in Italian, ‘Fox’). It figures in a number of fables, such as that giving rise to the expression sour grapes. In the story in which the fox and the crane entertain one another the fox meets his match: the long-beaked crane serves food in a deep-necked jar from which the fox cannot eat.

In the stories of ‘Uncle Remus’, Brer Fox is the determined enemy of Brer Rabbit, who despite his own strength and cunning is in the end always outwitted by the rabbit.
foxfire a name for the phosphorescent light emitted by certain fungi on decaying timber. The term is now only North American, but is first recorded in the late 15th century.
foxhole a hole in the ground used by troops as a shelter against enemy fire or as a firing point; the term was first used in accounts of the First World War. The American priest William Thomas Cummings (1903–45) is recorded as saying, ‘There are no atheists in the foxholes.’ In 1963, in a message to Congress on the proposed Civil Rights Bill, John Fitzgerald Kennedy also used the image: ‘there are no ‘white’ or ‘coloured’ signs on the foxholes or graveyards of battle.’
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "fox." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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fox

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

fox / fäks/ • n. 1. a carnivorous mammal (Vulpes and other genera) of the dog family with a pointed muzzle and bushy tail, proverbial for its cunning. ∎  the fur of a fox. 2. inf. a cunning or sly person. ∎  a sexually attractive woman. • v. 1. [tr.] inf. baffle or deceive (someone). ∎  [intr.] dated behave in a cunning or sly way. 2. [tr.] repair (a boot or shoe) by renewing the upper leather. ∎  ornament (the upper of a boot or shoe) with a strip of leather.

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Fox

A Dictionary of First Names | 2006 | | Copyright

Fox ♂ Generally a transferred use of the surname, which derives as a nickname from the animal (Old English fox). This may originally have been given to a cunning person, or to someone with red hair, or for some other anecdotal reason. Use as a given name may have originated in honour of George Fox (1624–91), founder of the Quaker movement. In Ireland it has also been used as an English translation of the Gaelic nickname Sionnach ‘fox’. As a Jewish name it has been used as an Anglicized form of the Yiddish nickname fiksl ‘fox’.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Fox." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Fox." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Fox.html

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Fox." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Fox.html

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A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | | Copyright

fox Foxes were common in Palestine, and Ezekiel lambasts false prophets as foxes (AV; ‘jackals’, NRSV, REB, NJB), that is, scavengers who hope to profit from the ruin of the nation (Ezek. 13: 4). In the NT the fox is not so much a symbol of slyness, or cunning, as in modern parlance, but is despised as being worthless and insignificant, which is what Jesus means by calling Herod Antipas a fox (Luke 13: 32).
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "fox." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

W. R. F. BROWNING. "fox." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-fox.html

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fox

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

fox Any of several carnivores of the dog family. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is typical. Height: 38cm (15in); weight: c.9kg (20lb). Distinguished by its sharp features, large ears and long, bushy tail, foxes feed on insects, fruit, small birds and mammals, and carrion. They are solitary animals, living in dens only for the mating season. Family Canidae. See also fox-hunting
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fox

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

fox OE. fox = OS. vuhs (Du. vos), OHG. fuhs (G. fuchs) : WGmc. *fuχs; rel. to Skr. púccha- tail, Russ. pukh fine woolly hair, down; the name may mean orig. ‘the tailed one’. Cf. VIXEN.
Hence fox-glove OE. foxesglōfa, f. g. sg. of fox (with unexpl. assoc.); the flower resembles a fingerstall in shape.
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T. F. HOAD. "fox." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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fox

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

fox, an old name for a strand or fastening formed by twisting several rope-yarns together by hand for use as a seizing or for weaving a paunch mat.
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fox

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

fox (Alopex, Cerdocyon, Dusicyon, Vulpes) See CANIDAE.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "fox." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Fox

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Fox see Sac and Fox .

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Fox

Dictionary of American History | 2003 | Copyright

FOX

FOX. SeeMesquakie .
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Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

fox •box, cox, detox, fox, Foxe, Knox, lox, outfox, ox, phlox, pox, Stocks •matchbox •bandbox, sandbox •hatbox • haybox • mailbox • brainbox •paintbox • squeezebox • pillbox •icebox • strongbox • horsebox •saltbox • soundbox • soapbox •shadow-box • shoebox • jukebox •toolbox • snuffbox • gearbox • firebox •tinderbox • thunderbox • pillar box •pepperbox • chatterbox • letter box •workbox • paradox • heterodox •orthodox • dementia praecox •Wilcox • backblocks • dreadlocks •Goldilocks • Magnox • equinox •chickenpox • smallpox • cowpox •aurochs • xerox • volvox •Faux, Fawkes •Boaks, coax, hoax, Oaks, stokes •yoicks •Fuchs, gadzooks, Jukes •Brooks, Crookes

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