An interview with Foxy the fox

Hello, welcome to the show. Tell me about yourself.

Hi. My name is Foxy, I am an auburn fox,

And I am perfectly lovely.

I am the smallest member of my family.

I have a triangular face, pointed ears,

An elongated rostrum, and a bushy tail.

Where is your rostrum? I ask, laughing.

Don't be naughty, it is located on my head.

I am digitigrade (meaning I walk on my toes),

With partially retractable claws and black whiskers.

There are whiskers on my muzzle,

And everywhere else on my head, there are

Whiskers on my forelimbs pointing down and backward.

I know that I am beautiful, everyone says so.

Do you think that I am beautiful?

Why do you ask. Does my opinion really matter Foxy? I ask.

You have enough confidence about that matter,

To fill a whole river full of Foxy's beauty.

Do you think it prudent to strut around all day and night

Primping and preening and blowing horns about

Your many attributes and wonderful gifts of nature?

Why, of course, who else will ever willingly volunteer

Or do a better job of making the facts well known.

Tell me a bit about your family, I ask, hoping

To somehow divert the conversation to another topic.

Should I tell you a little about myself while I tell you about them. She asks. I thought that was what we had been doing all along. Ok, I reply.

I have two brothers, they are out hunting with father, and doing boy's stuff. They romp with me sometimes, not as much as I would like them to though.

My parents go hunting too, mother is here now tending the den.

I didn't want to hunt today.

I wanted to talk with you.

I am so glad, I replied.

Tell me about foxes in general, I admonish the lovely vain fox.

Oh, there is so much to tell, she seemed happy to talk about her species.

Our species differ in fur color, length, and density. Coat colors range from pearly white to black-and-white to black flecked with white or grey on the underside. Some species of fox adapted to life in the desert, like kit foxes, who have large ears and short fur to aid in keeping the body cool. Arctic foxes, on the other hand, have tiny ears and short limbs as well as thick, insulating fur, which aid in keeping the body warm. Red foxes, by contrast, have a typical auburn pelt, the tail normally ending with a white marking.

My coat color and texture may vary due to the change in seasons; our fox pelts are richer and denser in the colder months and lighter in the warmer months. Foxes moult once a year around April, getting rid of dense winter coats; the process begins from the feet, up the legs, and then along the back. Coat color may also change as each individual fox ages.

Our typical lifespan in the wild is one to three years, although individuals may live up to ten years. Unlike many canids, we are not always pack animals. Typically, we live in small family groups, but some, such as Arctic foxes are known to be solitary.

We are omnivores. Our diet is made up primarily of invertebrates such as insects and small vertebrates such as reptiles and birds. We may also eat eggs and vegetation. Many species are generalist predators, but some (such as the crab-eating fox) have more specialized diets. Most species of fox consume around 1 kg (2.2 lb) of food every day.

We cache excess food, burying it for later consumption, usually under leaves, snow, or soil. While hunting, foxes tend to use a particular pouncing technique, like crouching down to camouflage themselves in the terrain and then use their hind legs to leap up with great force and land on top of their chosen prey. Using their pronounced canine teeth, they can then grip the prey's neck and shake it until it is dead or can be readily disemboweled.

Oh my Foxy! Don't you mind getting blood on your attractive auburn and white coat.

Don't be silly. I am a fox, I need to hunt and rip and tear and eat. Furthermore, she laughs, it washes off.

So, I smile to myself. Our Foxy can be a holy terror, when she is not busy being a chic and foxy fox.

When do you form your own family?

I am only six months old. When I am ten months old, I will be old enough for courtship. I am not sure I will want that though. I want to travel and see the world and become famous.

I have no doubt that you will Foxy. I see an independent nature in your feisty love for yourself and your determination for self-actualization. You will have an exciting and brilliant life.

Yet, if you change your mind, what would life as a mother be like.

My mother says it is wonderful. She enjoys spoiling us kits. She explained the process to me. I am not keen to spend that much time fussing with things of that sort, when I could be doing the things that I love.

Vixens typically have a twelve month reproductive cycle. Once an egg is fertilized, the vixen enters a period of gestation that can last from 52 to 53 days. Foxes tend to have an average litter size of four to five kits. Litter sizes can vary greatly according to species and environment – the Arctic fox, for example, can have up to eleven kits.

Eleven kits. I would go mad. Foxy had already made up her mind.

Foxy, I said. Everyone should follow their dreams. Do whatever it is that will make you happy. I believe that each fox should chart her own course.

Thank you for the vote of confidence. She smiled and bid me goodbye.

I know that Foxy will have a long and happily adventurous life.