"Even when they're newborn and blind they call to their mother to keep in touch," Harris said. Studies on other species of foxes show that the animals can recognize each other based on their calls, which isn't that surprising, Harris added.įox cubs also bark, in a way that's similar to adults. The bark sounds similar to that of a dog, except slightly higher-pitched and sometimes shrill. ![]() All of a sudden, "a vixen came down about 5 feet behind me and screamed in a very loud voice - I leapt straight out of my skin," he said.įoxes also commonly bark, which is generally used as another type of contact call to reach out to friends or rivals, Harris said. One time in the 1970s, Harris tracked a fox through a cemetery, and lost track of the animal. The "scream" can also be used by males, and by females at other times, though. "They are looking for the best fox to mate with," Harris said. The call is designed to travel long distances and summon suitors. This "blood-curdling" call "sounds a bit like somebody being murdered," he said. The loudest and most prominent sound made by foxes is the scream or contact call, typically used by vixens, or females, when they are ready to breed in the late winter and spring, Harris told LiveScience. This variety befits their role as highly social mammals, Harris told LiveScience. They use these calls to find mates, interact with rivals and communicate within their family groups. ![]() Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), the most common foxes throughout the world, have a wide variety of vocalizations, with as many as 20 different calls depending on how one defines them, said Stephen Harris, a biologist at the University of Bristol, England, who has studied their vocalizations. LiveScience turned to a fox researcher - and pulled together some videos of fox vocalizations - to find out what foxes really sound like. ![]() While the video is pretty awesome, it doesn't represent real fox vocalizations.
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