Red Fox

Red fox pups are born blind and are cooperatively cared for and provided with solid food by the mother, father, and sometimes unmated helpers and older offspring until the pups leave in the autumn following their birth.
Red fox pups are born blind and weigh between 50-150 grams, but their eyes open 9-14 days after birth. The pups remain in the den for 4-5 weeks after birth where they are cooperatively cared for and provided with solid food by the mother, father, and sometimes un-mated helpers and older offspring. The pups are kept in and near a den and protected by the family to avoid predators. They are nursed by their mother for 56-70 days and are fully weaned by 8-10 weeks.
Red fox pups remain with their mother until at least the autumn following their birth, but some, especially females, will sometimes remain longer. The pups will disperse to their own territories as nearby as 10 kilometers and as far away as almost 400 kilometers. There, the grown pups will remain in the same home range for life.
• Image | © Minette Layne, Some Rights Reserved, (CC BY-NC 2.0)
• Sources | (Fox, 2007; MacDonald & Reynolds, 2005)