Wednesday, April 20, 2016

The Red and Gray Fox The Red Fox - Wildlife Quiz

The Red and Gray Fox The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) both exist as members of the canine family. The red foxes native range includes the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, North America and Eurasia. The less prolific gray foxes range extends throughout the southern half of North America and into northern parts of South America. Gray foxes are special creatures as no other canine’s range spans both North and South America.

Red foxes possess the innate ability to inhabit and thrive on the edging of urban areas. This trait, allows red foxes to prosper over the less adaptable gray foxes in more “civilized” habitats. Unlike red foxes, gray foxes have the unique ability to climb trees to escape from predators or search for food. This trait is extremely unusual, as grays are the only American canine capable of climbing trees.

Crepuscular creatures, both red and gray foxes prefer to hunt during dusk and dawn. Red and gray foxes both have seasonally varied diets, gaining nourishment from a wide assortment of plant and animal matter including rabbits, mice, garbage, fruit, berries and insects.

Red and gray foxes practice monogamy, both tending to choose a singular mate for life, unless that mate is killed. Red and gray foxes mate in the early spring, with females (vixen) typically birthing litters of between 4-8 pups in late April or early May. Pups of red and grays stay with parents for up to 6-7 months before venturing forth to find their own territories. In captivity, red foxes have been known to live as long as 15 years but in the wild they typically do not survive past 5 years. Gray foxes tend toward having slightly longer life spans with some having survived to 20 years in captivity.

Wildlife Quiz Questions:
1. What is the native range of the red fox?
2. What is the native range of the gray fox?
3. What is special about the native range of the gray fox?
4. What special ability do gray foxes posses?
5. What is the diet of the red and gray fox?
6. Both red and gray foxes prefer to hunt during dusk and dawn, what category of creature does this make them?
7. How long to red foxes live?
8. How long do gray foxes live?

Wildlife Quiz Answers:
1. The native range of the red fox includes the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, North America and Eurasia.
2. The native range of the gray fox extends throughout the southern half of North America and into northern parts of South America.
3. Gray foxes are special creatures as no other canine’s range spans both North and South America.
4. Gray foxes are the only American canine capable of climbing trees.
5. Both red and gray foxes gain nourishment from a wide assortment of plant and animal matter including rabbits, mice, garbage, fruit, berries and insects.
6. Creatures that hunt during dusk and dawn, are categorized as crepuscular.
7. In captivity, red foxes have been known to live as long as 15 years but in the wild they typically do not survive past 5 years.
8. Gray foxes tend toward having slightly longer life spans than red foxes with some having survived to 20 years in captivity.

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