Hobbies And Interests
Mating Season
Most fox mating seasons last from January to February. During the other months of the year foxes generally live alone. During mating season, however, female foxes build dens that they later use to shelter their young. When not mating, foxes do not live in the dens they build. Instead they sleep and live out in the open. As mating rituals male foxes fight for the females they want to mate with. They also vocalize their desire to mate in hopes of attracting targeted females. Males also follow females very closely during mating season, because females are only in heat once every season.
Monogamy
For a long time researchers and scientists believed that foxes were monogamous animals. This means that the fox chooses one mate and remained with it for the rest of its life. However, recent studies show that foxes can have multiple partners during mating seasons. Both males and females have been seen associating with several other mates, and there have also been instances of one male fox caring for multiple kits and females in the same den.
Population Density
Population density affects foxes' mating rituals. Studies in England show that when population density was higher during mating seasons, male foxes became more promiscuous. They sought multiple female mates during the same season. However, when mange killed off many of the foxes the following mating season, the male foxes took fewer mates. Though they were not necessarily monogamous, they did not have to find as many partners.
Dominance
Fox mating rituals also hinge largely on the social and genetic hierarchies among groups of foxes. During mating season, dominant male foxes mate not only with the dominant female in their group, the dominant male's most constant mate, but also with subordinate females from their group and other groups. On the other hand, subordinate male foxes, usually offspring that don't leave their parents, never mate with the dominant female fox in their group. They only mate with foxes from other groups.