What Do Foxes Eat?
Written by Phil Brown, Badger Bushcraft Sunday, 12 September 2010 12:02
Having spent many occasions watching foxes (Vulpes vulpes) it never ceases to astound me how diverse their diet can be. I have often seen them hunting small mammals in the snow crusted fields, listening intently to their prey before pouncing.
Foxes like to do their toilet and deposit the faeces, or scat, on raised areas so that their scent is spread further by the wind. I’ve often found fresh scat on the large round bails the day after the bailer has been round – they are never shy to miss an opportunity.
On a walk recently I discovered some fox scat that gave me an interesting insight as to the autumnal diet. The picture below clearly shows that a rabbit and blackberries have been on the menu.
It is not uncommon at this time of year to see foxes engrossed as they carefully turn leaves over before crunching upon a small morsel. A recent discovery of some purple iridescent scat clearly shows that the foxes have been eating nothing but violet ground beetles (Carabus violaceus)
Next time you are out having a walk see if you can find out what your local foxes have been eating!
