Red Fox

Vulpes vulpes

The red fox is a slender, dog-like mammal that varies in color from bright red or rust to reddish-brown. Adults have:

• Upright, triangular ears with black on the tips.
• Black fur on the lower legs and feet.
• A slim muzzle.
• A bushy, red-and-black tail, usually tipped in white.
• White underparts.

Red foxes can grow to about 25 inches long and weigh 6 to 15 pounds.

Where does the red fox live?

Red foxes can be found locally in ravines, forests and farmland. They are mostly nocturnal, but are also active during dusk and dawn. Adena Brook Community mentor Lisa Fosco (Ohio Wildlife Center) says there are several families of fox living in our neighborhood. 

What does the red fox eat?

Red foxes hunt and forage for:

• Fruits, seeds and berries.
• Small mammals, including voles, mice, rabbits and muskrats.
• Small marsh birds and their eggs.
• Invertebrates like worms and insects.

Red foxes are sensitive to low-frequency sounds, allowing them to hear smaller mammals digging, chewing and rustling underground. Once a red fox detects its prey, it rapidly digs into the soil to capture it. Red foxes will also stalk small mammals by standing very still, then leaping high and bringing their forepaws down hard to pin the animal to the ground.

When does the red fox breed?

Red foxes usually begin breeding in late winter or early spring, sometimes as early as January.

• Adults remain solitary until ready to breed, when they begin a pattern of nocturnal barking.
• Females have a single estrous period every year that lasts only two to four days. They are thought to mate for life.
• After mating, the female establishes a den, which she may dig or take over from another mammal. She may use the same den each year.
• After about 53 days, the female has a litter of about four to six pups.
• At birth, pups’ tails are white. The mother nurses her young for the first 56 to 70 days, after which she feeds them regurgitated meat.
• Kits play above group after about one month. Eventually, the kits hunt with their parents.
• Young leave the family society at about 7 months old. Young males may travel as far as 150 miles away, while females remain closer. Adults also leave and hunt alone until the next mating season.

Other facts about the red fox:

• Related to wolves, coyotes and domestic dogs. While their cousins tend to be more social animals, red foxes are solitary, cautious and tense.
• Introduced to the United States from England in the mid-1800s. They flourished in this country for a period, but unregulated trapping and hunting greatly reduced their population.
• Red foxes are fast runners. They can move at speeds of nearly 30 miles per hour and leap more than 6 feet high.
• Can live to 12 years in captivity, but usually only reach about 3 years in the wild.

The fox was killed crossing High street just past midnight.  One of my volunteers saw it hit, called me just as it died, then moved it off the road.  I assume that is the same fox.  :<Lisa

Many trees were either lost or damaged in the wind storm. A way we can help conserve our neighborhood ravine habitat is to plant a diverse selection of native trees this fall and spring. If all of us plant 2 different trees on our properties, we’ll help assure our grandchildren enjoy this precious ecosystem in the future.

Maybe some of you saw the huge red oak on Glenmont Avenue that went down in the storm. This gentle giant was one of the trees blocking Glenmont Avenue traffic in the area just west of the Wynding Drive intersection for 4 days. Many neighbors lost power just after the winds began on Sunday, September 14 and didn’t get power back until Friday night, September 19. Cable returned on Sunday, September 21st. Others were more or less fortunate. It was a time of community building. I met new neighbors. I am fortunate to live next door to dear friend Barbara Lloyd who brought me a French press coffee each morning at 7 AM! We helped each other clean up, and even pulled our grills into the street to cook and share our food.

Red Oak down on Glenmont

storm damage

Tree on roof

Glenmont

storm damage

Jenny Peery writes:

Who knows if you have power for internet to receive this.

[UPDATE: Power went out Sunday, September 14. Most neighbors received power on Friday, September 19 and cable on Sunday, September 21.]

Just an FYI

Ike battered around a large tree in the soil conservancy –Deaf/Blind School area.

The tree fell over the power lines into our property (477 E Kanawha Ave), breaking a pole with a transformer on it.

The transformer landed in our terraced beds along the drive way into the lilac bushes we have there (thank heavens they cushioned the fall).

Today I talked with a  man by the name of Wes from the Ohio EPA.  My concern is with PCB’s known to be in older transformers.  As I write, I don’t know the status of the one landed in our property.

Wes told me that the transformers built after 1972 were built without the PCB.

The older ones that have been retrofitted, have a green sticker on them.

Wes was calling my husband, Craig to see if he could tell him more about what we have on the property to see if they could determine the status without making a trip to view it.  We’ll see what happens next.

Just thought you may want this information since we are so close to the Bill Moose ravine.

I hope this message finds you safe, sound, with power and water.

Thanks for your service Susan,

Jenny

Saturday, September 12, 2008
Adena Brook Rain Garden is one year old.  Volunteers only weeded the edges since the garden was still filtering water from Friday’s steady rain. (click photo to see larger version)

SECOND SATURDAY CLEAN UP

LEAF PICK UP

This is the time of year to talk with your lawn and landscape service about leaf removal (if you hire fall clean up). Not all companies know that dumping leaves (or branches) in the ravine causes matting and is illegal. If you need to hire leaf removal, neighbor John Blake who owns Outdoor Sensations, provides this service. Learn more or contact John by clicking here: http://www.outdoorsensations.com/curbside.htm

OR, BETTER YET, MULCH YOUR LEAVES

A better idea for leaf removal is create a spot in the yard and dump all the leaves to create leaf mulch.  Only took me one year to get mulch and after two years…I have got some great mulch…for free!  I even collect leaves from my two neighbors!  Phil Ashley

Sherrill Massey from Friends of the Ravines writes:

Does anybody encourage mulching the leaves instead of getting rid of them? My mother used to refer to leaf piles as black gold. You can run over them with a lawn mower to ground them up smaller to assist with the decaying process. Why discard nature’s nutritional bounty?

Sherrill’s comment reminds me of the story Judy Robinson tells when she talks to elementary school children about recycling. Judy asks, “What do you do with a bottle after you drink what is inside?” A child says, “I throw it away!” And Judy asks, “Where is away?” This raises a discussion and awareness about what we can recycle and reuse such as foods to compost, leaves to mulch, rain runoff from the roof to water our gardens, clothes to Volunteer Services, and so on.

Adena Brook team member Ann Laubach who lives on Ingham writes:

We had a wonderful treat this morning about 7:30 – both an adult raccoon and a fox were in our backyard at the same time!  They didn’t pay any attention to each other, the raccoon was interested in digging up something right in the middle of the grass, while the fox was just trotting along what my neighbor reports is his regular route, along the edge of our yard.  We also had a very young squirrel in the front yard yesterday – perhaps it fell out of its nest? – that was finally rescued by its parent.  I thought I was going to be making a trip with it to the Ohio Wildlife Center today, and we were relieved when its mom or dad arrived.  So we’ve got Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom going on over here!

As the project occurs, the following steps will occur:

1. RELOCATE the main gas pipeline. This pipe usually runs underneath your street or alley.

2. REPLACE some customer service lines–the pipe that runs form the main gas pipeline to your home or business

3. RELOCATE any indoor gas meterrs to the outside of your home or business. If the meter is already outside your home or business, this step will not be necessary.

When this work is complete, your neighborhood will have the most modern, safe, reliable gas delivery system available. We appreciate your patience and understanding.