Red foxes, (Vulpes vulpes) are one of the largest and most abundant
true foxes in the fox species. During their mating period foxes are usually monogamous
but males breeding with several females are known to occur. Females that mate
with the same males may also share a den. However, although a female may be
mated by several males, she will partner with one male.
Mating pairs will spend increasing amounts of time with each
other and undergo playful and affectionate fighting with one another. A majority
of time is spent in close contact with one another during season. Hunting is
still solitary but partners will maintain vocal communication through the
range.
Mating season varies with geographic location. A vixen’s oestrous
period ranges from 1-6 days with copulation lasting 15-20 minutes with vocal clamour.
A vixen will stay in the den close to and after giving birth to her pups. Gestation lasts from 51-53 days with a litter
size of 1-13 pups, averaging at 5. During this time, the male will provide food
for his vixen but will not enter the maternity den. Pups leave the den 4 or 5
weeks after birth and are fully weaned by 8 to 10 weeks. Mother and pups remain
together until the autumn after the birth. Sexual maturity is reached by 10
months.
Photos: Roeselien Raimond
References
Cavallini, P. 1996, "Ranging behaviour of red foxes
during the mating and breeding seasons", Ethology Ecology & Evolution,vol.
8, no. 1, pp. 57-65.
Nicely written. Red foxes have been considered a pest in some areas and no wonder if they can have up to 13 pups! Do females show alloparental care (caring for another female’s offspring) when they den together? Do the males defend a territory? Good post.
ReplyDeleteVery enjoyable topic! I was just curious, given that the Ruppells fox and the Fennex fox are it's closest relative, do they display the same or similiar mating behaviours? And what of distant relatives like the coyote?
ReplyDeleteI love red foxes! We had a family of them living under our porch for about a year and were able to see them raise their pups throughout the year (it was really cool!). Do you also think that the male's behavior in staying with the female even though the pups may not be his (if red foxes have extra-pair copulations) affects his fitness? This was a very interesting and informative post and definitely reminds me of the critters back home.
ReplyDeleteFoxes are truly gorgeous creatures! I never knew that they tended to be monogamous. I was wondering what benefits monogamous species have, when it seems that many species tend to be non-monogamous. Does monogamy insure the fitness of the fox's offspring somehow? Great post!
ReplyDeleteSo many questions to answer :P
ReplyDelete1: The males do defend the territory in which his female and pups reside in and and far as I could research, the females that do den together will show alloparental care, however minimal.
2: Indeed the Fennex and Ruppells fox are its close relative and do also share similar mating habits between the three of them. Coyotes and foxes are found within the same area as each other in some parts of the world and they to show similar habits to the Red foxes.
3: This is a tough question, as fitness refers to his ability to survive and reproduce as well as his contribution to the future gene pool. While him staying with the female and pups may potentially increase their survival rate even if they are not his, if they aren't his then that is going to affect his fitness. Better luck next year for him :)
4: Monogamous species can be more advantageous as due to consequence, both parents may care for the young. This can give a give a advantage to the offspring as they have a higher success of surviving. It can also take the some of the pressure of childcare off the females allowing her to bear more healthy offspring. So in the case of the foxes, the monogamy does increase the potential fitness in the offspring.
Hope I helped ^.^