TRANSCRIPT

INTRODUCTION

I'm Marty Stouffer. Family life is the way of life for humans, and for many wild animals. One of our favorite wild families are the dogs. The smallest members of the dog family are the famous Foxes. There's virtually no place from Florida to Alaska, except for downtown city streets, where Foxes of one kind or another cannot be found. Yet they're seldom seen.

Alert, with catlike paws and eyes, they're experts at survival and have been dodging man for centuries. Most common is the Red Fox, the subject of countless fables. It's often just as wily in real life as all the legends and stories portray it to be. North America's four other Foxes the Arctic, Gray, Swift, and Kit, also have distinctive means of protection. Join me as we meet the "FAMILY OF FOXES."

TRANSITION TO TITLE /RED FOX RUNNING IN SLOW-MOTION

When we hear the word "Fox", most of us think of the Red Fox, the most widely distributed member of its family. It can usually be distinguished by its handsome, rust-colored coat and white-tipped tail.

But Red Foxes also come in other colors, such as these Silver Foxes.

The Cross Fox is a third color phase of the Red Fox.

ARCTIC FOX

Another interesting member of the Fox family is the Arctic Fox, which ranges our northern polar regions.

SWIFT FOX

At the other extreme, the Swift Fox inhabits the dry plains of our western states. It's a small fox, well named for its speed.

KIT FOX

The smallest and perhaps rarest of all is the Kit Fox, which lives in our desert southwest.

GRAY FOX

The Gray Fox, though nocturnal and seldom seen, is thought to be the most numerous of America's foxes.

SUPERIMPOSED MAP OF NORTH AMERICA

Except for parts of the Midwest and Northwest, the Gray Fox is found in most of the continental United States, and south into Mexico. Its range overlaps, that of the Red Fox, although the Red is able to survive much farther north, and inhabits even the coldest regions of Canada and Alaska.

CLOSE-UP OF FULL MOON RED FOX

Although all foxes are omnivores, they are primarily carnivorous. They hunt at night, and are especially active at dusk and dawn.

Their activities include staking out territories by scent-marking. It's their way of identifying themselves to receptive females, or "vixens". It's also their way of challenging rival males.

A male Fox is called a "dog fox." Although some males will mate with more than one female in a season, the vixen of choice is jealously protected from un-mated intruders.

RIVAL MALES FIGHTING

Encounters between males are sometimes just screaming contests. But more often they are fierce battles, and can even be fatal. As the rivals continue to threaten and posture, the female trots away. The battle ends in a stand-off, with the resident male the apparent victor.

He now chases the vixen and courts her with techniques very similar to those he just used on his rival. The same battle strategies and display postures learned in the first months of life are used to both fight off rivals and to win the attention of a mate. The rival slinks away perhaps to find an unguarded vixen of his own.

SUPERIMPOSED MAP OF NORTH AMERICA/ARCTIC CIRCLE/ARCTIC FOX

The range of the Arctic Fox includes some of the coldest terrain in the World much of it north of the Arctic Circle. These hardy little canids have even been sighted within 300 miles of the North Pole.

Winter is the breeding season, as it is for all foxes.

Also, as with most foxes, this Arctic dog fox and vixen have each spent the early months of the winter hunting alone.

Courtship begins in February, and copulation takes place in March or early April, depending on latitude and weather conditions.

ARCTIC FOXES MATING

Typically, it's accompanied by much vocalization no matter how well-bonded the pair may be. Female foxes remain in heat only briefly, sometimes for just one day. The more often she can be fertilized during this period, the better the chances for offspring.

TIME-LAPSE SUNSET/TRANSITION TO MINNESOTA/GRAY FOX

As winter comes to an end, their attention will turn toward preparing or renovating a den.

FOX KITS

Upper Minnesota marks the northern edge of the Gray Fox's range. Here, as in the Arctic, spring comes late, and there may still be some on the ground when Fox kits are born. The gestation period for most foxes is about 53 days.

All young foxes are born blind, helpless, and thinly furred. The mother's body warmth is essential to their survival, and for the first week or so she does not leave the den. Gray fox kits, typically three or four to a litter, weigh only about four ounces at birth, but they grow quickly.

TIME-LAPSE SUNSET/TRANSITION TO ALASKA

Spring finally arrives in Alaska, awakening the Earth with warmth and sunshine. By this time, it's June, and Arctic Fox kits, already a month old, are just beginning to emerge from their den. Like most foxes, they're born with darker coats than they'll have as adults.

At this age, they've begun to eat small game caught by their parents.

FOX KITS PLAYING

This is also the age of play but the play is serious, establishing dominance relationships that will mean the difference between life and death. Food is often scarce in the Arctic, and in a large litter, only the boldest kits will survive.

Although larger animals, such as Caribou, share territory with Arctic Foxes, an adult Fox has few enemies. Nevertheless, the mother Fox stands wary guard over her young.

The little ones are vulnerable to Wolves, Wolverines, Polar Bears, and even birds of prey such as Owls.

But their greatest enemy is starvation. Less than half will survive, but these the mother protects from the slightest hint of danger.

CARIBOU ENCROACHING ON FOX TERRITORY

No matter how threatened she may feel, she will not abandon the kits she has send into hiding. She's very sensitive to intruders, and very defensive.

Finally, the Caribou moves on to graze elsewhere and leaves the family in
peace.

All young foxes have but one brief summer to learn everything they must know to survive as adults. For the Arctic Fox, this season is even shorter than it is for others.

TRANSITION TO ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS/RED FOX

Farther south, in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, summer lasts longer, and growing up lessons can be paced more leisurely. The spreading roots of an Oak tree make an ideal Red Fox den. While the mother goes off to hunt, the two month old kits emerge to play.

COLORADO HIGH COUNTRY

The alpine peaks of the Rocky Mountains provide a habitat very similar to that of the Arctic tundra. Due to altitude rather than latitude, summer in the high country of Colorado is almost as brief as it is in Alaska.

In the colder parts of its range, color variations of the Red Fox occur with greater frequency than they do in the warmer south. But no matter what their color, members of this species always have a white-tipped tail. At three months old, these Silver Fox kits are almost full grown. Now called juveniles, they are fully weaned and have already learned the hunting techniques of their parents.

Their main activity is still play, but they are now capable of using their superb senses of smell, sight, and hearing to find their own food.

Siblings like this brother and sister often stay together and frolic for a while as they venture away from home. They no longer depend on their parents, and the family den has been left behind. But they are nearing the end of a summer of childhood, and soon they will separate. In some instances a female may remain behind with her parents for as long as another year or she may leave if food in the area is scarce. But a male must always leave to establish a territory of his own.

KIT FOX

In the land of the Desert Bighorn, the Sidewinder is a symbol of danger. But for this alert and agile Kit Fox the poisonous reptile presents little or no threat.

Like other Foxes, the Kit Fox eats a variety of foods, including insects, fruit, mice, birds, and carrion. And like other Foxes, for each type of creature it hunts, it has evolved a specialized hunting technique. The Kit Fox's large, bat-like ears can detect the rustling of a mouse up to 50 yards away. And a mouse is its favorite form of food. In fact, it can even survive without drinking any water if it eats enough small rodents.

SUPERIMPOSED MAP OF NORTH AMERICA

The small Kit Fox ranges southwestern deserts. It has a very close cousin in the slightly larger Swift Fox. The Swift Fox roams the plains and prairies of our Midwest. Both Foxes have suffered from loss of habitat and poisoning, though the Swift Fox seems to be recovering.

SWIFT FOX

Hunting birds like these Scaled Quail requires a different method than the "listen, leap, and pounce" technique used to hunt mice. Listening is important, but so is the element of surprise. The Fox must stalk within close range before a successful chase can begin.

Though some think that Foxes kill too much game, the truth is they simply help keep it in balance. Foxes do far more to control rodents and other pests than they do to damage wildlife.

For these clever creatures, Autumn completes the cycle of the year.

CONCLUSION

Foxes are some of our most intelligent and adaptable animals. They've learned to share the world with humans. And though maligned by some, Foxes are experts in rodent control, and are overall beneficial. These graceful hunters remain abundant and are crafty enough living up to their fabled reputation the "FAMILY OF FOXES."

I'm Marty Stouffer. Until next time, enjoy our WILD AMERICA.