Fall Asleep While Learning About Foxes

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, drift off while learning about foxes. All I can recall from this article is that there are many types of foxes. Honestly, it would be amazing to tame one and have it as a pet around the house. Who wouldn't want a fox with that giant, fluffy tail? Maybe someday it’ll happen. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,

Fox.

Foxes are small to medium-sized omnivorous mammals,

Belonging to several genera of the family Canidae.

They have a flattened skull,

Upright,

Triangular ears,

A pointed,

Slightly upturned snout,

And a long,

Bushy tail.

Twelve species belong to the monophyletic,

True fox group of genus Vulpes.

Another 25 current or extinct species are sometimes called foxes.

They are part of the paraphyletic group of the South American foxes,

Or an outlying group which consists of the bat-eared fox,

Gray fox,

And island fox.

Foxes live on every continent except Antarctica.

The most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox,

With about 47 recognized subspecies.

The global distribution of foxes,

Together with their widespread reputation for cunning,

Has contributed to their prominence in popular culture and folklore in many societies around the world.

The hunting of foxes,

With packs of hounds,

Long an established pursuit in Europe,

Especially in the British Isles,

Was exported by European settlers to various parts of the New World.

The word fox comes from Old English and derives from Proto-Germanic fuzzats.

This,

In turn,

Derives from Proto-Indo-European puuk,

Sick-haired,

Tail.

Male foxes are known as dogs,

Tods,

Or reynards,

Females as vixens,

And young as cubs,

Pups,

Or kits,

Though the last term is not to be confused with the kit fox,

A distinct species.

Vixen is one of very few modern English words that retain the Middle English Southern Dialectal V pronunciation,

Instead of F,

I.

E.

Northern English fox versus Southern English vox.

A group of foxes is referred to as a skulk,

Leash,

Or earth.

Within the Canidae,

The results of DNA analysis show several phylogenetic divisions.

The fox-like canids,

Which include the kit fox,

Red fox,

Cape fox,

Arctic fox,

And fennec fox.

The wolf-like canids,

Including the dog,

Grey wolf,

Red wolf,

And the cat.

The Canids include the dog,

Grey wolf,

Red wolf,

Eastern wolf,

Coyote,

Golden jackal,

Ethiopian wolf,

Black-backed jackal,

Side-striped jackal,

Dole,

And African wild dog.

The South American canids include the bush dog,

Hoary fox,

Crab-eating fox,

And maned wolf.

Various monotypic taxa,

Including the bat-eared fox,

Grey fox,

And raccoon dog.

Foxes are generally smaller than some other members of the family Canidae,

Such as wolves and jackals,

While they may be larger than some within the family,

Such as raccoon dogs.

In the largest species,

The red fox,

Males weigh between 4.

1 and 8.

7 kilograms,

While the smallest species,

The fennec fox,

Weighs just 0.

7 to 1.

6 kilograms.

Fox features typically include a triangular face,

Pointed ears,

An elongated rostrum,

And a bushy tail.

They are digitigrade,

Meaning they walk on their toes.

Unlike most members of the family Canidae,

Foxes have partially retractable claws.

Fox vibrocy or whiskers are black.

The whiskers on the muzzle,

Known as mustachial vibrocy,

Average 100 to 110 millimeters long,

While the whiskers everywhere else on the head average to be shorter in length.

Whiskers are also on the forelimbs and average 40 millimeters long,

Pointing downward and backward.

Other physical characteristics vary according to habitat and adaptive significance.

Fox species differ in fur color,

Length,

And density.

Coat colors range from pearly white to black and white,

To black flecked with white or gray on the underside.

Fennec foxes and other species of fox adapted to life in the desert,

Such as skid foxes,

For example,

Have large ears and short fur to aid in keeping the body cool.

Arctic foxes,

On the other hand,

Have tiny ears and short limbs,

As well as thick insulating fur,

Which aid in keeping the body warm.

Red foxes,

By contrast,

Have a typical auburn pelt,

The tail normally ending with a white marking.

A fox's coat color and texture may vary due to the change in seasons.

Fox pelts are richer and denser in the colder months and lighter in the warmer months.

To get rid of the dense winter coat,

Foxes molt once a year around April.

The process begins from the feet,

Up the legs,

And then along the back.

Coat color may also change as the individual ages.

In the wild,

The typical lifespan of a fox is one to three years,

Although individuals may live up to 10 years.

Unlike many canids,

Foxes are not always pack animals.

Typically,

They live in small family groups,

But some,

Such as the arctic foxes,

Are known to be solitary.

Foxes are omnivores.

Their diet is made up primarily of invertebrates,

Such as insects,

And small vertebrates,

Such as reptiles and birds.

They may also eat eggs and vegetation.

Many species are generalist predators,

But some,

Such as the crab-eating fox,

Have very small numbers of predators.

These are generalist predators,

But some,

Such as the crab-eating fox,

Have more specialized diets.

Most species of fox consume around one kilogram of food every day.

Foxes cache excess food,

Burying it for later consumption,

Usually under leaves,

Snow,

Or soil.

While hunting,

Foxes tend to use a particular pouncing technique,

Such that they crouch down to camouflage themselves in the terrain,

And then use their hind legs to leap up with great force and land on top of their chosen prey.

The gray fox is one of only two canine species known to regularly climb trees.

The other is the raccoon dog.

The fox's vocal repertoire is vast and includes wine,

Made shortly after birth,

Occurs at a high rate when kids are hungry,

And when their body temperatures are low.

Wining stimulates the mother to care for her young.

It also has been known to stimulate the male fox into caring for his mate and kids.

Yelp.

Made about 19 days later,

The kid's whining turns into infantile barks,

Yelps,

Which occur heavily during play.

Explosive call.

At the age of about one month,

The kids can emit an explosive call,

Which is intended to be threatening to intruders or other cubs.

A high-pitched howl.

Combative call.

In adults,

The explosive call becomes an open-mouth combative call during any conflict.

A sharper bark.

Growl.

In adults,

The explosive call becomes an open-mouth combative call during any conflict.

A sharper bark.

Growl.

An adult fox's indication to their kids to feed or head to the adult's location.

Bark.

Adult foxes warn against intruders and in defense by barking.

In the case of domesticated foxes,

The whining seems to remain in adult individuals as a sign of excitement and submission in the presence of their owners.

Foxes are often considered pests or nuisance creatures for their opportunistic attacks on poultry and other small livestock.

Fox attacks on humans are not common.

Many foxes adapt well to human environments with several species classified as resident urban carnivores for their ability to sustain populations entirely within urban boundaries.

Foxes in urban areas can live longer and can have smaller litter sizes than foxes in non-urban areas.

Urban foxes are ubiquitous in Europe,

Where they show altered behaviors compared to non-urban foxes,

Including increased population density,

Smaller territory,

And pack foraging.

Foxes have been introduced in numerous locations with varying effects on indigenous flora and fauna.

In some countries,

Foxes are major predators of rabbits and hens.

Population oscillations of these two species were the first non-linear oscillations studied and led to the derivation of the Lotka-Volterra equation.

There are many records of domesticated red foxes and others,

But rarely of sustained domestication.

A recent and notable exception is the Russian silver fox,

Which resulted in visible and behavioral changes and a case study of an animal population modeling according to human domestication needs.

The current group of domesticated silver foxes are the result of nearly 50 years of experiments in the Soviet Union and Russia.

To denovo domesticate,

The silver morph of the red fox.

This selective breeding resulted in physical and behavioral traits appearing that are frequently seen in domestic cats,

Dogs,

And other animals,

Such as pigmentation changes,

Floppy ears,

And curly tails.

Notably,

The new foxes became more tame,

Allowing themselves to be petted,

Whimpering to get attention,

And sniffing and licking their caretakers.

Foxes are among the comparatively few mammals which have been able to adapt themselves to a certain degree to living in urban,

Mostly suburban,

Human environments.

Their omnivorous diet allows them to survive on discarded food waste,

And their skittish and often nocturnal nature means that they are often able to avoid detection,

Despite their larger size.

Urban foxes have been identified as threats to cats and small dogs,

And foxes are often seen as a threat to humans.

Urban foxes have been identified as threats to cats and small dogs,

And for this reason there is often pressure to exclude them from these environments.

The San Joaquin kit fox is a highly endangered species that has,

Ironically,

Become adapted to urban living in San Joaquin Valley and Salinas Valley of Southern California.

Its diet includes mice,

Ground squirrels,

Rabbits,

Hares,

Bird eggs,

And insects,

And it has claimed habitats in open areas,

Golf courses,

Training basins,

And school grounds.

The fox appears in many cultures,

Usually in folklore.

There are slight variations in their depictions.

In Western and Persian folklore,

Foxes are symbols of cunning and trickery,

A reputation derived especially from their reputed ability to evade hunters.

This is usually represented as a character possessing these traits.

These traits are used on a wide variety of characters,

Either making them a nuisance to the story,

A misunderstood hero,

Or a devious villain.

In Asian folklore,

Foxes are depicted as familiar spirits possessing magic powers.

Similar to in Western folklore,

Foxes are portrayed as mischievous,

Usually tricking other people with the ability to disguise as an attractive female human.

Others depict them as mystical,

Sacred creatures who can bring wonder or ruin.

Nine-tailed foxes appear in Chinese folklore,

Literature,

And mythology,

In which,

Depending on the tale,

They can be a good or a bad omen.

The motif was eventually introduced from Chinese to Japanese and Korean cultures.

The constellation Vulpecula represents a fox.

Vulpecula is a faint constellation in the northern sky.

Its name is Latin for little fox,

Although it is commonly known simply as the fox.

It was identified in the 17th century and is located in the middle of the summer triangle.

There are no stars brighter than fourth magnitude in this constellation.

The brightest star in Vulpecula is Alpha Vulpeculae,

A magnitude 4.

44 apparent magnitude red giant at an approximate distance of 291 light years.

This star is an optical binary that can be split using binoculars.

The star also carries the traditional name Anser,

Which refers to the goose the little fox holds in its jaws.

23 Vulpeculae is the second brightest star in the constellation.

In 1967,

The first pulsar,

PSR B1919 plus 21,

Was discovered in Vulpecula by Jocelyn Bell,

Supervised by Anthony Hewish in Cambridge.

While they were searching for scintillation of radio signals of quasars,

They observed pulses which repeated with a period of 1.

3373 seconds.

The terrestrial origin of the signal was ruled out because the time it took the object to reappear was a sidereal day instead of a solar day.

This anomaly was finally identified as the signal of a rapidly rotating neutron star.

15 years after the first pulsar was discovered,

The first millisecond pulsar,

PSR B1937 plus 21,

Was also discovered in Vulpecula,

Only a few degrees in the sky away from PSR B1919 plus 21.

Vulpecula is also home to HD 189733 b,

One of the closest extrasolar planets studied by the now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope.

On 11 July 2007,

A team led by Giovanni Tenetti published the results of their observations using the Spitzer Space Telescope,

Concluding there is solid evidence for significant amounts of water vapor in the planet's atmosphere.

Although HD 189733 b with atmospheric temperatures rising above 1000 degrees Celsius is far from being habitable,

This finding increases the likelihood that water,

An essential component of life,

Would be found on a more Earth-like planet in the future.

Also located in Vulpecula is soft gamma repeater SGR 1935 plus 2154.

In 2020,

It emitted a fast radio burst,

The first one to be observed in the Milky Way.

The Dumbbell Nebula,

M27,

Is a large,

Bright planetary nebula,

Which was discovered by the French astronomer Charles Messier in 1764,

As the very first object of its kind.

It can be seen with good binoculars in a dark sky location,

Appearing as a dimly glowing disk approximately 8 arc minutes in diameter.

The nebula is approximately 9,

800 years old.

A telescope reveals its double-lobed shape,

Similar to that of an hourglass.

Brocchi's cluster,

Colander 399,

Is an asterism formerly thought to be an open cluster.

It is also called the Coathanger because of its distinctive star pattern when viewed with binoculars or a low-power telescope.

NGC 7052 is an elliptical galaxy in Vulpecula at a distance of 214 million light-years from Earth.

It has a central dusty disk with a diameter of 3,

700 light-years.

There is a supermassive black hole with a mass of 300 million solar masses in its nucleus.

Astronomers surmise that the disk is the remnant of a smaller galaxy that merged with NGC 7052.

Jets can be seen emanating from the galaxy,

And it has very strong radio emissions.

This means that it is also classified as a radio galaxy.

The eastern part of Vulpecula is occupied by the Hercules Corona Borealis Great Wall.

It is a galaxy filament with a length of 3,

000 megaparsecs,

Making it the largest known structure in the universe.

Vulpecula contains an OB association of young stars called the Vulpecula OB association.

The association contains nearly 100 OB stars and over 800 young stellar objects.

It lies in the galactic plane at a distance of about 2,

300 parsec.

It contains the emission line nebula SH 86,

SH 87,

And SH 88.

Vul OB 1 has a length of about 100 parsecs and is sculpting many pillar-like structures in this region.

In the late 17th century,

The astronomer Johannes Hevulius created Vulpecula.

It was originally known as Vulpecula cum ansare,

The little fox with the goose,

Or Vulpecula et ansare,

The little fox and the goose,

And was illustrated with a goose in the jaws of a fox.

Hevulius did not regard the fox and the goose to be two separate constellations,

But later the stars were divided into a separate ansare and vulpecula.

Today they have been merged again under the name of the fox,

But the goose is remembered by the name of the star,

Vulpecula ansare.

The island fox is a small fox species that is endemic to six of the eight channel islands of California.

There are six subspecies,

Each unique to the island it lives on,

Reflecting its evolutionary history.

They are generally docile,

Show little fear of humans,

And are easily tamed.

Island foxes played an important role in the spiritual lives of native channel islanders.

They have been likely semi-domesticated as pets,

Used as pelts,

Or for other functions like pest control.

Genetic and archaeological evidence indicates that the species descends from a population of the mainland gray fox that arrived on the island around 7,

300 years ago,

Possibly due to having been introduced to the islands by humans.

Humans are almost certainly responsible for their presence on the southern islands.

The species is around 25% smaller than its mainland ancestor,

An example of insular dwarfism.

Because the island fox is geographically isolated,

It has not acquired immunity to parasites and diseases brought in from the mainland,

And is especially vulnerable to those that the domestic dog may carry.

In addition,

Predation by the golden eagle and human activities devastated fox numbers on several of the channel islands in the 1990s.

Four island fox subspecies were federally protected as an endangered species in 2004,

And efforts to rebuild fox populations and restore them to their original habitat are being undertaken.

Radio collars are being attached to foxes in an effort to track and locate the young foxes.

To date,

These efforts have been largely successful.

There are six subspecies of island fox,

Each of which is native to a specific channel island,

And which evolved there independently of the others.

Foxes from each island are capable of interbreeding,

But have genetic and phenotypic distinctions that make them unique.

For example,

Each subspecies has differing numbers of tail vertebrae.

The fox did not persist on Anacapa Island because it has no reliable source of fresh water.

Santa Barbara Island is too small to support the food needs of a viable fox population.

Other names for the island fox include Coast Fox,

Short-tailed Fox,

Island Gray Fox,

Channel Islands Fox,

Channel Islands Gray Fox,

California Channel Islands Fox,

And Insular Gray Fox.

The island fox is significantly smaller than the related gray fox,

And is the smallest fox in North America,

Averaging slightly smaller than the swift and kit foxes.

Typically,

The head and body length is 48 to 50 centimeters,

Shoulder height 12 to 15 centimeters,

And the tail is 11 to 29 centimeters long,

Which is notably shorter than the 27 to 44 centimeters tail of the gray fox.

This is due to the fact that the island fox generally has two fewer tail vertebrae than the gray fox.

The island fox weighs between 1 and 2.

8 kilograms.

The species exhibits sexual dimorphism.

The male is always larger than the female.

The largest of the subspecies occurs on Santa Catalina Island,

And the smallest on Santa Cruz Island.

The island fox has gray fur on its head,

A ruddy red coloring on its sides,

White fur on its belly,

Throat,

And the lower half of its face,

And a black stripe on the dorsal surface of its tail.

In general,

The coat is darker and duller hued than that of the gray fox.

The island fox molts once a year between August and November.

Before the first molt,

Pups are woolly and have a generally darker coat than adult foxes.

A brown phase with the gray and black fur of the body replaced by a sandy brown and a deeper brown may occur in the San Clemente Island and San Nicolas Island populations.

It is unclear if this is a true color phase,

A change that occurs with age,

Or possibly a change that occurs because of interactions with Apuntia cactus spines that become embedded in the belt.

You

Reviews

I listened to this at 4:00 a.m. when I was unable to get back to sleep, and I found the article interesting, so I'm going to try listening to it during the day when I'm not tired. Maybe while I'm packing to move? I don't know -- I think I might end up falling asleep anyway. 😆