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Species: red fox
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the largest of the fox species, native to a wide range in North America and Eurasia, with introduced populations in Australia. It has extensively benefited from human habitation, comfortably living in urban and suburban areas. They are classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Hunting red foxes has been a common sport through the centuries, especially amongst the higher classes. They are important to the furtrade where they are farmed for their hides. Red foxes generally don't make good pets (although progress has been made in breeding a truly domesticated fox) although they can be tamed to a degree.
The common red fox has red or orange fur with white countershading on the body; dipstick ears, socks and gloves of black fur; a fluffy dipstick tail tipped with white fur, and slit pupils in orange eyes. Despite the name, not all red foxes have red fur:
Color variations:
Cross fox - mostly black with some red fur. Black cross shape along the back and shoulders, black fur on the underside, back, limbs, face, and the tail. White tail tip.
Silver fox - melanistic color variation with black and grey fur covering the entire body, with black fur reverse countershading on its underside, and a white-tipped tail.
Marble fox - mostly white fur with small amounts of black or red fur on the face, ears, back, and tail.
Platinum fox - mostly white fur with small amounts of grey fur on its face, ears, body, and tail. White tail tip. Characteristic white muzzle with the white fur extending up its face, between its eyes, to the top of its head.
Pearl fox - grey and white with a white-tipped tail. Similar to silver foxes, but with paler fur.
Arabian red fox - a desert subspecies with paler fur, larger ears, slenderer body, and shorter coat.
In culture:
Cultural stereotypes of the red fox vary from region to region. In the West, they have been portrayed as sly villains, as in the medieval Reynard the fox stories, but this trope has also been reversed in movies such as Robin Hood (Disney) and Zootopia. In Japan, red foxes are associated with magic, forming the basis of the multi-tail kitsune fox spirit. Magical red foxes, sometimes with multiple tails, are also present as húlí jīng in China and kumiho in Korea. In Western furry fandom, red foxes are a very common fursona species and the species is often associated with promiscuity and highly sexual behavior.
For more information:
The following tags are aliased to this tag: vulpes_vulpes, anthro_red_fox, vulpes-vulpes, red_foxes, siberian_fox (learn more).
This tag implicates true_fox (learn more).
The following tags implicate this tag: cross_fox, platinum_fox, pearl_fox, arabian_red_fox, japanese_red_fox, ezo_red_fox, silver_fox, marble_fox (learn more).
