Tamed Foxes: Amazing!
Believe it or not, there are people who have managed to tame the foxes. They were wounded and reunited and healed, still others were orphaned and someone took them and raised them. The fact is, it’s not uncommon to find domesticated foxes that behave like real pets, playing with their owners and exchanging treats with them.
What kind of animal is the fox?
Foxes (vulpines) are omnivorous mammals of the canid family, such as dogs, jackals and wolves. There are currently 27 species of foxes spread across the five continents, although the most common species is the Red Fox or Common Fox, which lives in Europe and North America.
Foxes tend to live from 5 to 7 years when in freedom, although in captivity they can reach more than 12 years.
Their size is smaller than that of other canids, but unlike them, they hunt alone. Its physical characteristics include a thin muzzle and a long, thick tail.
Other physical characteristics vary depending on the geographic area where they live ; for example, the desert fox has long ears and short fur, while the Arctic fox has short ears and thick coat.
Is it possible that foxes are domesticated?
As has happened with the dogs, cats and wolves, initially wildlife, the foxes could evolve to become pets.
Thus, the team of scientists coordinated by Dimitri Beliáyev, thought that perhaps it would be possible to domesticate newborn foxes , in a few generations, in this way, they maintained an experimental lineage on a farm under strict reproductive selection.
The results were amazing.
To carry out the experiment, 130 wild foxes, without contact with humans, were selected. They were then crossed and the descendants cared for. For each generation of animals, objective behavior tests were performed, following a strict protocol:
First, the caregiver approaches the cage and spends a minute near the closed cage. Then, he opens the cage and spends a minute with the door open, without touching the animal, a minute trying to touch it, and a minute with the door closed again.
The entire process is videotaped and determines if they have become more docile. These specimens that became more docile were selected for breeding.
After 10 generations, 18% of the foxes showed extremely docile behavior. But the most surprising thing about the matter is that they looked more and more like dogs, not just in behavior but also physically.
Currently, the experiment remains in place in order to study in depth the links between behavior and DNA, by directly comparing the genes of the domestic foxes in the group, with the wild foxes.
After this experiment that showed that it is possible for foxes to become pets over time, captivating stories were discovered about these animals that live with humans and are treated with love.
And if I have a fox as a pet, what do I give him to eat?
Many people believe that the fox is a carnivorous animal, but not quite. Foxes are omnivorous animals, which consume almost any type of food.
The fox’s diet is very different as they are able to live in very different places. They tend to eat small animals, rodents, rabbits and squirrels.
Small birds are also part of their diet in many areas, although they are often a seasonal food, depending on the climate in which the fox lives.
It is known that they feed on fruits that can be grown seasonally in different areas. These animals have an incredible memory, each year they return to the same places to benefit from the food there.
Foxes are not selective when it comes to eating. They feed on beetles, earthworms and, from time to time, even spiders.
As part of their survival mechanisms, these animals do not despise any food front. For this reason, foxes are content to eat any type of food.
