The red fox is the most widespread member of the Carnivora order, living on five continents in environments ranging from the Arctic Circle to near the Sahara Desert. Despite some variations in appearance, red foxes typically have fiery red-orange coats, long snouts, black-tipped ears and feet, and fluffy tails with white tips.
They're known for their piercing eyes and pointy ears. While their sharp vision helps them detect small movements from a distance and move through dense forests during hunting, their most remarkable sense is their ultrasonic hearing. A 2014 study found that red foxes have the best hearing sensitivity of any mammal—able to hear a mouse squeak from 30 meters away.
After centuries of warding off predators such as wolves and lynx, rural foxes now share much of the same territory with humans. This may explain why they pause and study me instead of immediately running away.
