uick intelligence, amazing adaptability, and expert skill as hunters, foxes are among the most successful animals in the world. In her personal, highly readable text, Rebecca Grambo describes in vivid detail the fox's acute sense of hearing, which allows it to locate scurrying insects; its superb sense of smell, which can easily pick up the scent of a dog's day-old paw print; and its excellent night vision, which can detect a rabbit's blinking eyelid in the shadows. With all of their skills, it is no wonder that foxes inhabit every continent except Antarctica, making their home in lush rain forests, on wind-swept ice, in desert sands and on urban streets.
Feared and hunted throughout history, the fox has been linked with the gods in Finnish legends, associated with demons in Japanese and Chinese tales, and portrayed as a thief and murderer in European folklore. The fox has also been avidly hunted for sport, trapped for its beautiful fur and mercilessly shot and poisoned as vermin. Despite
Foxes are creatures of the shadows, feared and hunted through history. They are quarry to be chased, fur to be sold or a threat to be removed. They are loving parents, faithful partners and hunters of unmatched skill. Foxes are all of these things and so much that still remains a mystery. But there is no mystery about the thrill that I feel when I am lucky enough to see a fox flickering like a flame through a snowy forest. May we never take such magic for granted.
-- Rebecca L. Grambo
Rebecca Grambo gives us a wonderful insight into the private lives of foxes.
-- Ludwig Carbyn, Ph.D.
International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Canid Specialist Group