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Red fox hunting trips in Bulgaria

Vulpes Vulpes

Distribution

The Red fox is found in prairies and semideserts, forests, steppes and forest-steppes. You can see it in the suburbs and even in urban areas, living together with other small predators. This species is found everywhere in Bulgaria.

General information

The fur of the Red fox is rust-coloured. It has white belly and black ears and legs. Its eyes are golden-yellow and have distinctive vertically cut pupils like the cats. Its long shaggy tail, which has characteristic white tips, provides balance during jumps. The adult Red fox weighs 4.1-5.4 kg. Body length is 80-110 cm. Its size varies depending on habitat. In autumn and winter its fur is long and thick, and in spring until the end of the summer – short.

Way of life and feeding

Foxes are omnivorous. They eat rodents, insects, fruits, worms, carrion, eggs, mice, other small animals and poultry. The fox is one of the greatest allies in our fight against rodents, which often dominate its menu. They eat 0.5-1 kg food per day on the average.

Reproduction

Fox breeding period is from December to January, and in the northern high parts of its area it is in February-April. Females have an annual oestrus, which lasts 1-6 days. The ovulation is spontaneous. Copulation is noisy and short - it lasts for not more than 20 seconds. Although a female may mate with several males (who fight for it), it finally chooses to live with one only. Males bring food to females up to and after confinement, and generally leave them with the cubs in the mother’s lair”. The average number of fox cubs from one litter is 5 and the maximum is up to 13 fox cubs. The cubs are born blind and weigh 150 grams. They begin to see in about 2 weeks and make their first steps outside the lair in up to 5 weeks. The mother weans them at about the 10th week, when they reach their puberty.

Behavior

Foxes are active at dusk, but in more densely populated areas they are active mostly at night and evening or early in the morning (at dusk). Generally they hunt singly, and if they find more food, they hide it for later. Each fox marks its territory with urine and faeces. Foxes mate only during winter and in summer they look for food, after they have dug several burrows in these territories. These can be burrows of former inhabitants such as badgers, or newly-dug ones. In winter, they use one main burrow, where the fox lives, and raises its cubs. Smaller burrows are intended for cases of danger and for storage of food. The cubs most often spread rapidly, when they reach sexual maturity (8-10 months), but they frequently remain in their home territory and help raising the next generation.
According to some researchers, individuals that do not breed, make it sure that the cubs will survive, while others say this difference is negligible. Foxes communicate with body language, with its smell and vocalizations (sounds). Voice range is great and the sounds that they make could be I am lost (three yelps) to a scream type near to the human scream.

Conservation status

According to the Convention on International Trade with Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the fox belongs to the endangered species, but most of their populations are stable. Shooting is based on quotas.

Place and significance of the fox in the ecosystem

It is proved that foxes may affect the populations of rodents, including rabbits and birds of prey. They spread the seeds of the fruits, eaten by them. Their positive or negative role in the development of ecosystems, state reserves and poultry-raising must be assessed separately in each case.

Economic significance

According to its biology and way of eating, the Red fox eats a large amount of mice and other harmful rodents, thus contributing to the agriculture. It also destroys a lot of useful game - rabbits, pheasants, partridges. It is a carrier of rabies, that’s why in case of high density of the population it is pursued throughout the year. Her skin is a valuable and demanded. It is hunted with the use of battues, but most often by stalking near enticement. Her skin and skull have trophy value.