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How to identify foxes
Red foxes are the UK’s only species of fox, adapted to both urban and rural areas. These British foxes aren’t dogs – though the males are called dogs, and females called vixens – but are part of the canidae family, which also includes wolves and dogs.
Foxes, scientifically named Vulpes vulpes, are an easily recognised part of UK wildlife, renowned for being elusive yet playful. Their signature shade of rusty red is often spotted roaming through the shadows, making them easy to identify – but not all red foxes are red. Here are other fascinating fox features:
Physical features
Senses
Foxes can hear at very low frequencies, able to detect sounds with incredible precision across large distances. They can hear prey rustling below several feet of snow or a watch ticking from 120 feet away, with ears that can move independently to locate the source of the sound.
Foxes are more closely related to dogs, but they have a cat-like ability to see. A fox’s vision is specially adapted for hunting in the dark, at dusk or dawn, and in the daylight. They can see in colour and their vertical pupils, like cats, allow them to close more tightly than round pupils, which helps them regulate all levels of light. Foxes can also reflect light back through their eyes, helping them see more clearly, providing that recognisable reflection when foxes are seen in streetlights or headlights.
Making up to 28 distinctive screams, screeches or barks, foxes are known for being highly vocal as a way to attract mates.
Colours
Red is the most common colour of red fox, although it can look more orangey, mixed with grey, white and black markings. On rare occasions, it’s possible to see grey foxes or black foxes in the wild (also called silver foxes). A silver fox was once admitted to our Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre.
Black foxes could be the descendants of foxes bred for the fur trade and released into the wild many years ago, while others could have escaped from captivity and continued to survive in the wild.
Traditionally, most foxes with grey, black or silver colourations were bred for their fur, but now they’re kept as exotic pets. We don’t support keeping any foxes as pets in the UK, as they’re wild animals with very specific needs that can’t be met in a domestic setting.
Body
With pointed ears and bushy tails, foxes are hard to miss. They use their tails, also called a ‘brush’, for balance and warmth.
Another recognisable fox attribute is their ‘fox jump,’ a hunting technique that sees them leap high into the air before diving into vegetation to catch prey.
Foxes use their sharp claws to climb trees and fences, and can partly retract them, like cats and unlike dogs. Both nimble and agile, they can run up to 50km an hour and are also good burrowers. They usually weigh between 5kg to 8kg and are approximately 40cm tall at the shoulder.
did you know?
Red foxes are the first predator known to use ‘magnetoreception’ to hunt – using the Earth’s magnetic field to aid hunting, detected through proteins in their eyes.
How long do foxes live?
Wild red foxes can live up to nine years – with some known to reach up to fifteen – however, most survive between one to six years.
Food availability, mange and wildlife management practices (shooting, trapping, poisoning, etc) can severely reduce a fox’s lifespan. Fox hunting still happens, despite becoming illegal due to the Hunting Act 2004. However, road accidents account for nearly 60% of fox deaths; an estimated 100,000 foxes are killed on roads each year in the UK.
Where and when you might see foxes
Where
You can find red foxes all around the UK, except for on the Channel Islands and Scilly Isles. They’re highly adaptable and able to survive in most environments, from urban areas to rural countryside.
Unfortunately, foxes and other wild animals are losing their natural habitats due an increase in houses built in greener areas. This has forced foxes to find food and shelter in towns and cities.
Food availability will determine the size and choice of a fox family’s territory. As towns and cities have plenty of food sources, like our waste food, foxes may have smaller territories there (as small as 25 hectares), because they don’t need to travel as far to find it. In food-scarce areas, such as mountainous terrain or moorlands, their territory will be much larger (up to 4,000 hectares) as they travel further to find food.
Foxes are highly territorial animals, and will claim their territory by peeing around the edge of it, known as ‘scent marking.’
There may be several dens dug within a single territory – where foxes live – which foxes can dig themselves, though they often take over dens created by other animals, such as rabbit warrens or badger setts. If their den has remained undisturbed, they’ll return to it year on year.
Urban foxes can also shelter above ground, denning in spaces beneath sheds or other outbuildings.
When
Though primarily nocturnal, foxes are most active at dusk and dawn, known as being crepuscular. They prefer to be away from people, but you may spot them in the daytime during mating season (in the winter).
Create a fox-friendly garden
Foxes are regular visitors to gardens, scavenging, exploring and digging their dens. Learn how to turn your garden into a fox-friendly space, or how to safely discourage them from passing through.
What does a fox den look like?
A fox den – otherwise known as an ‘earth’ – is a tunnel dug below ground, with an entrance hole at the surface. These can be as simple as a single tunnel, or a more complex network of tunnels with different entrances, usually a main entrance and an emergency exit.
The tunnels lead to an empty chamber with no bedding inside, only bare earth, which can be between one to three metres underground. This is where the foxes sleep and the cubs are born.
Fox dens are often mistaken for badger setts. To tell them apart, look for fur or feathers around the entrance – foxes tend to bring food back to the den, so the debris would indicate it’s them. Badger sett entrances often have remains of bedding outside. Fox dens may also have a distinctive smell.
did you know?
Foxes and badgers sometimes share tunnels
Foxes may use an existing badger sett as their den – sleeping in separate chambers – the two species coexisting peacefully. Badgers, however, don’t usually seek out fox dens.
Spotted a sick or injured fox?
From unlawful fox hunting to traffic accidents, foxes and their cubs are commonly injured or even killed by human activities. If you find a sick, injured or dead fox, learn how you can help.
Fox behaviour
Like us, foxes have routines and behaviours that help them to communicate and thrive. The more we know, the better we understand them.
Urban fox behaviour may differ slightly from rural foxes, as they’ve had to adapt to living in people-populated places. However, all red foxes form bonds, learn to scavenge and wander playfully and curiously through their surroundings.
Fox diet
Foxes are omnivores – they eat both meat and plants. A healthy and diverse fox diet can include:
Proteins
- Birds
- Rabbits
- Rodents
- Frogs
- Worms
- Invertebrates
- Carrion (dead or decaying animals)
- Fungus
Plants
- Berries
- Cherries
- Apples
- Pears
- Tubers
- Acorns
- Grass
Ideally, foxes will have a nutritious and diverse diet. However, urban foxes have had to adapt to living in cities and towns, and will eat anything they can access, including food waste and leftovers. They may even eat pigeons and rats. In gardens, foxes might eat fallen fruit, scraps from compost heaps and bird food. Foxes don’t always eat the food they scavenge straight away, often burying extra food for later.
Find out what you can safely feed foxes to supplement their diet.
The emotional and social lives of foxes
Foxes have long been labelled as devious and cunning creatures, but in reality they’re shy, not sly. They’re reserved, timid animals who prefer to keep their distance from humans, but will defend their territory against other wildlife.
With other foxes, however, especially those within their small family groups called a ‘skulk’,’ foxes are sociable and playful. They’re family-minded mammals, with groups consisting of a dominant male fox (called a dog), a female (called a vixen), their cubs and sometimes other subordinate foxes who’ll help raise the young.
They’re incredibly territorial animals who function within a hierarchy. By the time cubs are around two months old, their place in the hierarchy will be established. Fox siblings can form alliances and will explore, play, wrestle and chase one another, the more dominant sibling protecting their less confident brother or sister.
Cubs will play with anything around them. As curious and inquisitive animals, they see objects left outside as toys; they’ll throw them around, chew them and even bury them for safekeeping. By early autumn cubs are around six months of age, and old enough to leave the den and find a territory of their own.
¹Red Fox Mortality & Disability, Wildlife Online, 2024.
²Fox Population by Country 2026, World Population Review.
Fox breeding
Foxes are highly territorial and protective of their family. Typically monogamous, red foxes mate for life, with fox mating season taking place in the winter (between December and February) in the UK. They can have up to three litters of cubs in their lifetime.
You may already be familiar with the screeching or barking sounds foxes make (a sharp “woo” or “wow” sound). If you’re wondering why foxes scream, don’t be alarmed – both male foxes and female foxes will scream to attract a mate and deter rival foxes. They also make a variety of other sounds, with up to 28 vocalisations that allow them to communicate with each other and other animals.
Foxes only mate once a year, having just one litter per year. The female fox will be pregnant for around 53 days, then give birth in the spring (March to April) in their den (urban foxes may give birth under a shed or other outbuildings). Foxes have an average of four or five cubs in a single litter, and both parents will then take care of them.
did you know?
Foxes can appear to get ‘stuck together’ during mating season
This is called a copulatory tie, and increases the chance of fertilisation. It doesn’t always happen, but when it does it can last anything from a few minutes to more than an hour. Don’t worry, they’ll eventually separate once the heat of the moment has worn off.
fox cubs
What does a healthy cub look like?
Below is what a typical healthy cub looks like, and how it behaves,
at different stages of its growth.
Age: birth
Fox cubs are born deaf and blind, with fluffy grey-black fur. They’re fully dependent on their mother’s milk and warmth, meaning she rarely leaves their den. Meanwhile, the male fox is out hunting to feed their mother.
Age: 2 weeks
Their eyes open (which are blue at birth), their ears unfurl and their fur changes to a dark brown.
Age: 4 weeks
Their dark brown fur begins to moult, as their red adult coat comes through, and their muzzle turns white. Their eyes change colour to amber, they can eat solid foods and they’ll leave the den for the first time.
Age: 6–8 weeks
Now fully weaned, with red fur, and lengthened ears and noses. They’ll begin to confidently explore on their own.
Age: 6 months
Around autumn the fox cubs are fully grown and identical to their parents in appearance. They’ll head off to find their own territories.
Age: 10 months
They’re considered a sexually mature adult.
If you’ve found a sick or injured baby fox, or one that’s alone, find out how to help.
Report fox crimes
Unfortunately, foxes aren’t currently protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, however it’s against the law to involve foxes in cruel activities such as fox hunting or using dogs to kill them (similar to badger baiting), or mistreat them in any way under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996.
Sadly, fox trapping and snaring is still legal in specific circumstances, but we’re campaigning for a complete ban. Trail hunting also remains legal, which uses fox scents – usually fox urine – for dogs to hunt, rather than the live animal, but still often leads to ‘accidental’ fox deaths. Thankfully, this is set to be banned as of 2026.
If you see any illegal / suspicious fox activity – such as hunting with dogs or general cruelty – call the police on 999 if it’s currently taking place, or on 101 for anything non-urgent.
How the RSPCA helps foxes
Foxes are one of the most common mammals treated at our wildlife centres.
Mallydams Wood treats an average of 60 to 70 foxes a year (as of May 2026, there are 11 cubs in their care), many of which have been involved in traffic accidents or are lone cubs separated from their mums.
