Pair bonds are formed just as the new year begins. The vixen, to signal her availability, will leave scented markings for a dog fox to follow. Foxes routinely patrol their territories for these and other social calls, and the male who finds these is strongly encouraged to seek out the vixen.

Having lived in solitude for several months, a unique feeling overcomes these first year foxes. The two spend more time together, and their side-by-side tracks can be seen for longer periods as they search for food cooperatively.

For nearly three weeks, they enjoy company only previously had with their siblings. Close contact and frequent tussles in the snow are a welcome distraction from the daily struggle for life. And when the vixen is ready, the pair creates new life of their own.


Love Chase


The right time.
The opportunity to mate comes just once a year for a female fox, during her estrous in late winter.

Once she becomes pregnant, the sense of urgency relaxes, and the two spend more time apart. They still call to each other frequently, and sharing patrol duties on their territory, as they search for potential birthing dens.

Fox dens are generally small, temporary shelters used in bad weather and for sleeping. There might be over a dozen, spread out over several miles. Anything is suitable, from a dry patch under a tangle of tree branches, to a secluded space in a grassy field.

Deep within, a mother labors.

A natal den must be more secure, and large enough to accomodate the vixen and her kits. The expectant mother will usually pick several sites in the event one is disturbed. The den might be close to a water source, with a relatively small opening, and a dry chamber preferrably of earth. The most suitable dens are those abandoned by badgers, although in urban areas foxes find refuge under decks and in old sheds.

During the 7 to 8 weeks needed for the young to develop in her womb, the vixen will continue to look for food and defend the territory along with her mate. As the time to give birth nears, she'll sleep closer and closer to her selected natal den, eventually not straying very far as the moment of new cubs arrives.

While success stories like this are not uncommon, reaching maturity and starting a family are not easy for the red fox. Our next section will detail a few of natures hardships foxes must endure in order survive.