Red foxes live in many kinds of places, from forests and deserts to cities. Most red foxes have red fur. A red fox has a bushy tail with a white tip.

An adult red fox weighs from 3 to 14 kilograms (6.6 to 30.8 pounds). Its head and body are 45.5 to 90 centimeters (18 to 35.4 inches) long, not counting the tail. Its tail is 30 to 55.5 centimeters (11.8 to 21.8 inches) long.

Red foxes are active at night, and around dusk and dawn. A red fox can hear small animals it cannot see, such as a mouse under snow or hidden in leaves. A fox that is hunting a mouse can stand still and listen for it. It creeps close, the way a cat does, and then it pounces.

Red foxes are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals. They eat rodents and rabbits, and they also eat fruit. A red fox can store extra food by hiding it, in a den or buried in the ground.

A young red fox is called a kit. A red fox mother is pregnant for about 51 to 53 days before the kits are born. Pregnant means she has babies growing inside her. The kits are born in spring, in late March to April in some places.

The kits are born in a den, which is a hole in the ground. Red foxes often use an old woodchuck burrow as a den instead of digging their own.

A red fox litter averages about five kits. A litter is the group of babies born together. Newborn red foxes are blind.

Both the mother and the father red fox help take care of the young. While the mother stays with the newborn kits, the father brings her food.

Red fox kits stay in the den until they are about 4 to 5 weeks old.

Red fox kits are weaned when they are 8 to 10 weeks old. Weaned means they no longer drink their mother's milk. The mother and her kits stay together until the autumn after the kits are born.

Words to know

• omnivores: eats plants, animals
• kit: a baby fox
• litter: babies born together
• weaned: no longer nursing
• pregnant: carrying babies

The short version

A red fox mother is pregnant for about 51 to 53 days. Her kits are born in spring, in a den, and a litter averages about five. Both parents help care for them. The kits are weaned at 8 to 10 weeks old and stay with the mother until autumn.

Quick facts

• A red fox mother is pregnant for about 51 to 53 days.
• A red fox litter averages about five kits.
• Red fox kits stay in the den until they are about 4 to 5 weeks old.
• Red fox kits are weaned when they are 8 to 10 weeks old.
• The mother and her kits stay together until the autumn after the kits are born.