Silver fox (animal) facts for kids

A silver fox

The silver fox is a special type of red fox (Vulpes vulpes). It is known for its beautiful dark fur. People sometimes call it the black fox or blue fox.

Silver foxes have many different fur colors. Some are shiny black with a white tip on their tail. This white tip makes them look a bit silvery. Other silver foxes can be bluish-grey. Some even have a greyish color on their sides.

For a long time, silver foxes were very important for their fur. Their pelts were highly valued. Important people in Russia, Europe, and China often wore them. In the wild, silver foxes can have both silver and red fox siblings. But when raised by humans, they are usually bred with other silver foxes.

The Amazing Silver Fox

The Silver Fox's Fur and Appearance

An adult silver fox

Silver foxes have long outer hairs. These hairs can be about 5 centimeters (2 inches) longer than their soft underfur. This is especially true on their throat, shoulders, sides, and tail.

The underfur hairs are brown at the bottom. They are silver-grey with black tips further up. This fur is very soft and shiny. It was once thought to be even finer than a pine marten's fur.

The underfur is thick and dark brown or chocolate-colored. It covers their whole body, even their tail. The fur is shortest on their forehead and legs. It is finest on their belly. Their ears are also covered with thick fur. The bottoms of their feet have so much woolly hair that you cannot see any bare spots.

Silver foxes are often more careful and shy than red foxes.

When two silver foxes breed, their babies usually have silver fur. This happens almost every time after a few generations. If a silver fox breeds with a pure red fox, the babies will mostly be red. These red babies will have more black markings than regular red foxes.

Sometimes, if one parent is a mix and the other is silver, the litter might have half silver and half red pups. This shows how their fur color genes work. It is like a special mix of traits. Even red fox parents can sometimes have a silver cub, about one out of every four.

The dark color in some silver foxes comes from tiny changes in their genes. These changes affect how their fur color is made.

Where Do Silver Foxes Live?

Red foxes, including the silver fox type, live in many places around the world. You can find them across much of the northern half of the Earth and even in Australia. They are good at living in many different environments.

In North America, silver foxes are mostly found in the northeastern areas. Long ago, in the 1800s, people found them in places like Labrador and the Magdalen Islands. They were also sometimes seen in the mountains of Pennsylvania and parts of New York.

It was quite rare for trappers to find many silver foxes. Even so, trappers valued them highly. Today, silver foxes make up about 8% of the red fox population in Canada.

In countries that were once part of the Soviet Union, silver foxes live mostly in forests and areas where forests meet the tundra. This is especially true in central and eastern Siberia and the Caucasus mountains. They are not often found in very dry grasslands or deserts.

Silver Foxes and Humans: A Look at History

The beautiful fur of the silver fox has always been highly prized. People like John James Audubon, a famous naturalist, wrote about how special and valuable it was. Its fur was considered even more beautiful than that of a beaver or sea otter.

Long ago, in New England, the fur of a silver fox was worth a lot. It was valued more than many beaver skins. Giving silver fox furs as a gift was a sign of making peace.

Over time, people started to raise silver foxes on farms. This was called fur farming. It helped to produce high-quality fur. Farmers on Prince Edward Island in Canada were very successful at this. They learned how to care for the foxes in captivity. This led to better fur than what was found on wild foxes.

These farmers carefully bred silver foxes together. After a few generations, all the foxes had the desired silver color. This farming helped create a strong industry. It also led to important discoveries, like vaccines to keep foxes healthy. For example, the Fromm brothers helped develop a vaccine for distemper in the 1930s.

Today, the silver fox remains a symbol of cleverness and the hard work of people in places like Prince Edward Island.

How Silver Foxes Behave

Silver foxes act much like red foxes. One common behavior is scent marking. They use their scent to show who is in charge. They also use it to tell other foxes if there is no food in an area. It helps them keep track of social information.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Silver foxes form pairs during their breeding season. This lasts from December to April. Most mating happens in January and February. Female silver foxes have one breeding cycle each year. This cycle lasts about 1 to 6 days. Babies are born after about 52 days.

Female silver foxes usually have their first litter in their first autumn. Many things affect how many pups they have. These include their age, how much food is available, and how many other foxes are nearby. If there are too many foxes in one area, it can be harder for them to have pups.

A litter of silver fox pups can have anywhere from 1 to 14 babies. On average, they have 3 to 6 pups. Older foxes and those with plenty of food tend to have larger litters. Sometimes, other unmated female foxes help care for the pups. This is especially helpful for larger litters.

Both parents help raise the young. The male fox brings food to the mother while she is nursing the pups. He also helps protect the den. Female foxes are also very protective of their babies.

Raising Young Pups

In captivity, some female foxes are better at getting resources like food or nesting spots. This ability helps them raise more healthy pups. Scientists have studied this to understand how to help foxes have successful litters.

What Silver Foxes Eat

Silver foxes are not picky eaters. They will eat almost anything they can find. But they prefer to eat meat when it is available. If meat is hard to find, they will eat more plants.

They use different ways to hunt. For small animals, they listen carefully for sounds. Then they pounce, pinning the prey with their front paws. They kill it with a bite. For faster animals, they stalk and chase them quickly. If prey hides in a burrow, foxes might even wait patiently by the entrance for it to come out.

Silver Foxes and Humans: Domestication

The domesticated silver fox is a special kind of silver fox. Scientists have worked to make them tamer in labs. This experiment showed how selective breeding can change animals over time. It was inspired by Charles Darwin's ideas about how species change.

The experiment focused on choosing the tamest foxes to breed. Over many generations, the foxes became much friendlier. They also started to look more like dogs. For example, some developed patchy or spotted fur.

Silver Foxes in Stories and Symbols

The silver fox appears in stories from many cultures. The Achomawi people of Northern California have a myth about two creators. One is the wise silver fox, who came from fog. The other is a tricky coyote, who came from clouds.

In their story, the silver fox created land, trees, rocks, and fruits. The coyote, however, ate everything when he woke up. This myth teaches a lesson. It shows the silver fox as a wise creator. The coyote is seen as lazy and greedy. Silver foxes are also often shown on totem poles.

The silver fox is also a symbol on the Prince Edward Island coat of arms. In the late 1800s, this rare fox lived there. Its fur was very valuable worldwide. People on the island developed ways to breed these foxes. Fur farming became a big part of the island's economy in the 20th century.

The silver fox now stands for the cleverness and determination of the islanders. It reminds people of the hard work and smart ideas used in the fur industry.

Silver foxes have also appeared in movies and comics. For example, Silver Fox is a character in the Wolverine superhero series. In the cartoon The Animals of Farthing Wood, characters like Scarface and Lady Blue are silver foxes.

See also

• Cross fox
• Domesticated silver fox
• List of domesticated animals
• Experimental evolution
• Genomics of domestication
• Neoteny

Images for kids

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  Captive silver foxes being fed