Well, there is quite some variety among foxes. Throughout most of Europe, Asia and the northern part of North America, red foxes are numerous. Generally, they are reddish-orange or rust and have a whitish belly, black fur on the legs and a white-tipped bushy tail. But other red foxes have black fur with white tips and are called silver foxes. Those having jet-black fur are known as black foxes. Still other red foxes are called cross foxes because, though rusty in color, they have fur that forms a black cross on the shoulders and along the backbone.
The gray fox ranges from southern Canada to northern South America. Fur on its back is of a salt-and-pepper color, though its underside is whitish and the sides of the shoulders, neck and legs, as well as the tail's underside, are a rusty color. Incidentally, only this fox climbs trees a—good way to escape a pack of hounds!
Arctic foxes are yet another type. As their name suggests, they inhabit the Arctic regions. Their gray-brown coat of summer changes to snow-white in the wintertime—a superb camouflage amid the ice and snow. This small, resourceful fox is attired in its warm white coat by September. Let temperatures plummet to 75 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (?59 degrees Celsius)! That matters not to this creature, perhaps curled up in the snow with its nose tucked into the hair of the tail, which is said to act as "a sort of radiator of self-generated heat."
The yellowish-gray kit fox of western North America gets its name from the fact that it is kitten-like in size. But this nimble animal makes up for its smallness in maneuverability and speediness. If necessary, it musters up a great burst of speed and can change directions in an instant without slowing down—leaving the baffled pursuer in the dust.
The gray fox ranges from southern Canada to northern South America. Fur on its back is of a salt-and-pepper color, though its underside is whitish and the sides of the shoulders, neck and legs, as well as the tail's underside, are a rusty color. Incidentally, only this fox climbs trees a—good way to escape a pack of hounds!
Arctic foxes are yet another type. As their name suggests, they inhabit the Arctic regions. Their gray-brown coat of summer changes to snow-white in the wintertime—a superb camouflage amid the ice and snow. This small, resourceful fox is attired in its warm white coat by September. Let temperatures plummet to 75 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (?59 degrees Celsius)! That matters not to this creature, perhaps curled up in the snow with its nose tucked into the hair of the tail, which is said to act as "a sort of radiator of self-generated heat."
The yellowish-gray kit fox of western North America gets its name from the fact that it is kitten-like in size. But this nimble animal makes up for its smallness in maneuverability and speediness. If necessary, it musters up a great burst of speed and can change directions in an instant without slowing down—leaving the baffled pursuer in the dust.
