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| Identification of Foxes Fact sheets:
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All sightings and any possible evidence of fox activity should be reported immediately. Ring the 24 hour hotline on 1300 FOX OUT (1300 369 688)
Foxes are a striking animal, ranging in colour from pale red to deep reddish brown or even grey on occasion, on the upper body. The underbelly is a contrasting white colour. Legs, particularly the lower sections, are usually black, whilst the characteristic bushy tail is dark brown to black, and tipped with white or black hairs. They have long black whiskers around the face.
Alert adult fox | 
Adult fox with cub | 
Fox cubs playing |
Adults measure a little over a metre in length, including the tail, and weigh between 4.5 and 8.3 kg; males are usually larger than females. Very young cubs (see left) closely resemble kittens and have a short, dark grey fur coat and rounded face.
By the time they are 12 weeks old, the coat has changed from dark grey through chocolate to the typical reddish coat of the adults, and their rounded faces develop the pointed nose typical of the adult.
Would you recognise a fox – dead or alive? Many native and domestic animals can resemble foxes – especially if the sighting is quick, or in poor lighting.
The pictures below show how easy it can be to confuse native or domestic animals with foxes. Visitors to Tasmania sometimes mistakenly identify animals as foxes, often as the animals are unfamiliar and in the case of possums, possibly because the populations in their home states have declined due to fox activity.
Photo sent to the Fox Eradication Branch by a concerned tourist who
feared it was a dead fox | 
A fox killed on the road in Victoria | 
Kelpie | 
Fox on the run with prey.
Photograph: Clive Marks |
Fox prints are quite different to devil, quoll and cat prints, however prints of small to medium dogs can be quite similar to foxes. One useful way to distinguish fox prints from dogs is the position of the toes.
Note on the image below how the tops of the outer toes of a fox would not extend beyond a line drawn along the bottom of the inner toes, whereas on the dog’s paw, the tops of the outer toes are higher than the bottom of the inner toes.
 Fox scats are usually about the size of an adult human's finger, roughly cylindrical with a sharply pointed (as distinct from tapered) end. They are similar to those of cats, large quolls, juvenile Tasmanian devils and small dogs, however cat scats are usually tightly formed in several rounded sections, while quoll droppings are usually sticky. Foxes, cats and quolls often drop scats on top of tussocks, whereas dogs rarely do and devils never do.
The contents of scats reflect what was eaten as much as what animal produced them. Devil scats usually contain relatively large chunks of bone and are often dropped at latrines (traditional dropping places) whilst dog scats usually show evidence of processed food. Blackberries are a favourite food of foxes and in season can be predominant in scats.
Fox scats also have a distinct, pungent odour since they are often used to mark sites. Typically, foxes drop a scat at a feeding or cache site, even on top of a carcass. Quolls sometimes also do this.
 Foxes are famous for their extremely bright eyeshine.
In mature foxes it is golden yellow; in juveniles it is paler yellow but still intense. Separation of the eyes is also quite obvious (see photo).
Eastern quoll also have bright eyeshine but it is more silver and the eyes are very close. Foxes are more inclined to face a strong light if it is not centred on them, and the use of fox whistles can aid in getting a fox to face a light.
Foxes are usually quiet, but have been recorded making a range of calls. They are particularly vocal early in the breeding season as they search for a mate. Listen to some examples of fox vocalisations below.
 Animals killed by foxes are typically killed from behind, with numerous small puncture wounds around the neck and head. Facial bites and puncturing of the neck are also common. Birds such as poultry may only have the head and neck eaten. Large feathers are chewed off, rather than plucked out.
Larger prey such as lambs typically have just their face, tail and/or ears eaten, and calves may just have their tongue and lips eaten whilst being born. Other species such as dogs, cats, devils, quolls, ravens and birds of prey may scavenge on a fox kill, inflicting different types of damage and thus confusing the evidence.
Contact: Invasive Species EnquiriesInvasive Species Branch
171 Westbury Road
PROSPECT TAS 7250
Phone: 03 6336 5320
Fax: 03 6336 5453
Email: invasivespecies@dpipwe.tas.gov.au
Media enquiries should be directed to 03 6233 3625.
Report all fox sightings and any evidence of fox activity to 1300 FOX OUT (1300 369 688)
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