The female fox, or vixen, gives birth to four or five babies in spring. Baby foxes are called kits . Like all newborn dogs, kits are blind and helpless at birth. Young foxes leave their home territory in early fall. They stay alone until midwinter, when they look for a mate.
Foxes often appear in fables.
The stories say the fox is sly and cunning. In real life, foxes are secretive and shy. Because they stay away from people, they can survive even in big cities. In American Indian legend, Old Man Coyote was a trickster and wanderer. He fixed the world up for humans, but he also caused all kinds of trouble.