Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes
The red fox has the appearance of a small dog and weighs from 10 to 15 pounds and measures up to 2 feet long not including its long, bushy tail. The red fox is most commonly a rusty red, with white underbelly, black ear tips and legs, and the tail usually has a distinctive white tip. The red tone can vary from dark chestnut to golden.
Red fox range has expanded across Florida and they are now considered naturalized. A naturalized species is a species not native to an area but has adapted and established a stable or expanding population and does not require human assistance for survival and reproduction.
The red fox is normally found in uplands mixed with fields and weedy pastures and is essentially a nocturnal animal. While it may occasionally feed during the day, it is more likely to be active at dawn or dusk. They mainly eat small mammals such as rabbits, rats, and mice. If food is plentiful, they may kill more than they immediately need, and cache the extra in the ground. (Society for Range Management, 1998; Glossary of terms used in range management, fourth edition)
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