Fox cubs in Niagara Falls 

Fox cubs in Niagara Falls. Foxes mate from December to February and announce the process with loud, far-carrying vocalisations typified by a barking ‘wow-wow-wow’ and an eerie, high-pitched ‘waaaaaaaa’. Underground breeding dens in banks on open ground or at woodland edges may be excavated in preparation for the birth of the cubs

Fox gestation period is around 52 days, births are usually in March or April, and the typical litter size is 4 or 5 cubs, although in the New Forest, litters of 6, or sometimes more, are not uncommon.

Fox cubs at birth are blind and deaf, their nose is relatively short, their ears are small and floppy, and their fur is short and very dark. The vixen’s body heat is needed by the cubs for the first 2 to 3 weeks of life - during at least the early part of this period, she is provisioned by the male: he leaves food by the den entrance for her.

After around 4 weeks, the cubs first venture above ground, hesitantly initially. By this time, their coat is darkish brown with a reddy tinge to the face, their ears are more like those of adults: longer and erect; and their muzzle has lengthened and will continue to do so as adult facial features are progressively developed over the next 4 - 6 weeks. Adult coat colour is also fully assumed over this period, starting, at least in some animals, at the front and working backwards.

Following first emergence, hunting and foraging instincts quickly kick in as the cubs seek out earthworms and insects to supplement a mixture of 'mother's milk' and solid food brought back for them by both the dog fox and vixen. Relatively large mammals, such as rabbits, and birds are often provided for the cubs, whilst for themselves, the adults apparently favour smaller prey items, such as mice and voles.

 In the weeks immediately after first emergence, cubs tend to stay close to the den, but as confidence grows they progressively wander farther afield, spurred on in part by curiosity, in part by growing mobility and in part by the natural urge for independence.

Research from elsewhere suggests that cubs abandon the den in June and lie up during the day in undergrowth - in the New Forest, mature bracken often obscures the view, but there is no reason to believe that behaviour here is any different to that of other country foxes. In July, apparently, they increasingly follow their parents on hunting expeditions and start to forage for themselves, and some or all of those that manage to survive - a relatively small proportion of the cubs born in spring - fully disperse from late-September through to late-winter.

All images copyright Baldini Vandersluys Photographers.