Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1861-12-13
For the Oxford p,~Oorst
WILD ANIMALS OF MAINE.
rHE AMERICAN RED FOX ..(Cani.
fuiyus.)
BY ]. G.. Rich.

THE AMERICAN RtD tON ..tSani'
fulvus.)
THIS animal !. 90 common sbOu, Ou'
farm. and barn-yArds IL i no, improbable
that many farmers in our State may kno.
more Ahou, the habits Of the foy than grO'
fr-.ionaI hunter could b. expected 70 know
Still he i Wild animal. and comes under
our immediate businc--, and more, I. We
intend 10 trvAs upon each family Of animals
a. they occur.
TIN. animal belong. 20 oor q" Cans, and
together With the wolf, rsprcscn,s the entire
family. "CAnidr." inhaai,ins oOr State,
eIcspi tn, eommon dog, (CAnis iamiliaris
All Il this family have teeth alike, aud ~
In number They have Eve toes on the fore
irc, and four toS. on the hind feet, and
.ometims. a 9th on ths tar'u', claws not
rrtraciil,. Pie red FOX has much fnsr
brush. or tail. than The EgrOpean, and 10 .
much larger animal. The iur Of the body
Is full. long. soii, and Of a bright rufoa'
brown, with some white under The body
ADD black about the ise,. The voice Of the
fo1 j, sort Of yelp or a bark like q dos.
only sharper, With shrill continuation.
Thi. noise may bS 50 modified or varied IS
70 represent difrcn, meaning, and Is az
well understood by foIe- A' our language Is
by VI. A, = proof Of this. will relate a
little eireumst.ncs which bapp-nei while
~As living ON the Richardson Lake iarn.
One morning accidentally discovered foI
burrOw only fec rod. from the house, and
a. several young foxes were aboa, the mouth
Of the hole at play. thOushi would trcai
nv family 10 a sight Of them. ~ ! called
nv wife and children, and We vent out very
quietly, and walked up - near as almost to
touch the little fellows: and the children
were delighted :. the sight. But nov We
bear The old foI over on the SIDE Of neigh
boring bill. making her common yslp or
bArk.-we cOald plainly sc her about two
rias shots OF A. We kept nearing The little
fo1r-, 10 .ce II We could catch one. they
.csmed as destitute oi tear asa common
hoa.e cat. The old fot s-cmed very uneasy
and kept up her noise. OF which the little
ones seemed 10 take 10 notice AZ all. But
Suddenly she made a tremendous yelp, and
eontinaed hsr yoiss -ome sSeonds' and on
the instant. long before the sound bad eeas-
ed every young ioI bad entered the holO with
the rapidly Of lightning. and We .Aw no
more Of them tha, morning. The nsIi
m5rr ins took some tool. aud dug the buF.
r0w entirely out. bu, found nOsa ioI' show
ins the eunniOg Of The fox superior u she
hunter.
The fox. like other members OF the cAninc
family. is sntirely eArulvoroa.. and u also
solitary IN b., habits. burrowine alone. and
stealing out at the da.k Of evening alter his
prey. continuing throughout the night bis
ssarch Tor food 10 relieve bis rapaeiOus AP-
p,,te. H.. eve Is 80 formed rs 10 .ee al
moe, or qaite a. well IN a nOOn.hsh, night
=. 10 the dly time. lie does no, depend up
on h.s eyes alone iJr hi. food. bgt has ken
scent 80 that be can creep upon rabbit or
partridge without seeing them or iOllo-ins
their track Thsy will kill all they can oi
every descrpsiOn OF sha,l animal, aud What
they g. not van; at prc-cn, they sury TOT
future us,.
They brccd 10 April, bringing iron three
tJaIata birth. and 1--we IN family about
four months. They can scarcely be tanned
when iAkyn young, and never when taken
old. bat wall SON die if confined.
We al.O have foI called the Cro's Grey
which consider 70 Be a variety Of the red
f1. having grey tor mingled With black
the latter color prevailing over the shout
dsrs. and forming many varieties, some oi
which are more valuable than others.
There occurs still another variety in ,hi,
State. va. the Black or Silver Grey FOX
(Cauls FulvUs var. Arsen,atu') OF thi,
animal very little !, known bot IL Is sup
Iossd to be. by macy hunters. distinct
variety. Thi. may or may not be the case
have no mean. Of knowing. and 50 leave
the question TO bs proved by some fu,urc
hunters or nAturAl,.,-. This FOX i' very
rare. on'y an occasional one is taken In ,hi'
State. IL !. about the sane SIRE Of the com
mon red ilI, and has very beautiful color
-s1meiime- with deep. glossy black. With
white end TO the tail; but nore generally
10 silyerei all over. the end OF each Of the
long hairs being tipped with white. making
a most bosuufui aPPeArAnce. THIS fur
bring, nI TINES as much a. any for in the
market. Ther--was one killed in the towt
OF Bethel las, winter. but ] am not able Il
describe ,,s color. as Rad 10, the plsasur'
Of seeihgii
Fox peIi. are understood 10 be shipping
for. and are Ossd more in Europe than ,hli
eouu,ry A5oui sigbt thousand are shiPTs!
thence annually from the Different fur cOuu
uie.
Th'' iar Away. sells to beet advantage
in The spring. have known So obtain
ed IN March Tor red fox. when IN the f.l
they would bring ba, 81 81. and this | BE-
l'sve holds good irOu year To year.
A lady near here, 90 the border OF ,h,