What Do Foxes Actually Eat?

Foxes are opportunistic feeders with a varied diet that allows them to thrive in diverse environments. Insects, worms, and small mammals like rodents and squirrels make up a significant portion of their intake. These protein sources provide essential nutrients and energy for foxes, particularly during active hunting seasons. In addition to animal matter, foxes also consume a variety of plant-based foods, including fruits, berries, and seeds. These food sources not only supplement their diet but also offer important vitamins and minerals that support their health and immune systems.

We do not advise feeding wild foxes at Black Foxes UK, However, for those that choose to do so, it is crucial to avoid feeding foxes inappropriate foods that can be harmful to their health. Processed meats, rawhide, and foods high in fat, sugar, or salt should never be offered, as these can lead to digestive issues, obesity, and other serious health problems. Such foods disrupt their natural dietary habits and may foster dependence on human-provided food sources. By understanding what constitutes a healthy diet for foxes, we can help ensure their well-being and encourage them to maintain their natural foraging behaviours.

Foxes are known for their adaptability and opportunistic feeding habits, and their dietary intake can vary based on factors like season, availability of food, and individual health. Here are some relevant statistics and information on fox feeding habits:

1. Daily Intake: On average, an adult fox consumes about 500 grams (approximately 1 pound) of food per day. However, this can fluctuate based on the availability of food sources and the energy requirements of the fox, especially during breeding seasons or when caring for young.

2. Seasonal Variation: During the summer, when prey is abundant, foxes may eat more than during winter months when food is scarce. They will often cache excess food to ensure they have resources available during leaner times.

3. Diet Composition: A study found that the diet of urban foxes can consist of approximately 60% animal matter (including rodents, insects, and small birds), 20% fruit, and 20% human-related food sources. This demonstrates their ability to adapt their diet to available resources.

4. Feeding Frequency: Foxes are primarily nocturnal hunters, often feeding once a day or every few days, depending on their success in hunting and foraging. They may also scavenge food from human waste or other sources.

5. Energy Requirements: Adult foxes require about 500-1000 calories per day, with variations based on activity level and environmental conditions.

These statistics highlight the importance of a natural diet for foxes, emphasizing their need for a balanced intake of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats from natural food sources. Feeding them inappropriate foods can disrupt their natural behaviours and lead to health issues.

Supporting Foxes Without Feeding Them

It's vital to support foxes responsibly to ensure their welfare and preserve the broader ecosystem. While feeding foxes may seem like a kind gesture, it often disrupts their natural behaviour, can lead to dependency, and increases human-wildlife conflicts. Here are some effective ways to support foxes without feeding them directly.

Maintain a Healthy Garden

Planting native plants is one of the best ways to help foxes. A diverse garden that includes shrubs, flowers, and ground cover will attract insects, small mammals, and earthworms, which are natural components of a fox’s diet. Instead of providing food, you can provide fresh water and create a space that encourages their natural hunting and foraging behaviours. This allows foxes to remain independent and keeps them wild. Plants that you can plant to support foxes include:

• Native shrubs and trees: These offer shelter and support ecosystems that provide food for foxes. For example, hawthorn, blackthorn, and elder can attract birds, rodents, and insects, all of which are part of a fox's natural diet.

• Wildflowers: By planting a variety of wildflowers, you can attract pollinators and insects, which are a small but vital part of a fox's diet. Wildflowers also encourage biodiversity in your garden.

• Berries and fruit trees: Planting species such as blackberries, raspberries, and apple trees will provide foxes with natural, seasonal food sources.

• Compost heaps and log piles: While not plants, these features create habitats for small mammals and insects, which foxes will hunt. They also serve as places of shelter for foxes themselves.

• Provide a pond or fresh water daily: This is one of the most beneficial things you can do for all wildlife, not just foxes. Just be sure to ensure you maintain good hygiene.

By combining responsible feeding practices with a wildlife-friendly garden, you can support foxes in a sustainable and healthy way. This ensures that they maintain their natural foraging behaviours while benefiting from supplementary feeding and shelter.

Understanding Fox Behaviour

Foxes are opportunistic hunters. They feed mainly on small mammals birds, insects, fruits and seeds, with, up to 18% of their diet might consist of human food waste only in urban areas. However, urban foxes are skilled foragers and hunters, thriving on their own. Studies show that they are successful at catching worms and insects 82% of the time, rodents 60% of the time, and birds only 2% of the time. Allowing them to continue this natural behaviour is crucial for their health and the environment.

Fox cubs arrive in spring and disperse in autumn. Feeding fox cubs at any age is detrimental to their development and overall well-being. When humans provide food, cubs may become reliant on these handouts instead of learning essential survival skills, such as foraging and hunting. This dependency undermines their natural instincts and can hinder their ability to thrive in the wild. Additionally, habituation to human presence can lead to dangerous behaviours, increasing the risk of traffic accidents, conflicts with people, and exposure to health issues due to improper diets. By not feeding cubs, we allow them to develop their natural behaviours and instincts, ensuring they grow into self-sufficient adults capable of surviving independently in their natural habitats.

During autumn, foxes enter a period known as dispersion season, during which they vacate their territories to seek mates and establish new territories. This behaviour not only facilitates genetic diversity but also allows the land to recover from parasites and other ecological pressures. As they return in late winter or early spring, the ground is often still hard, making it challenging for them to forage for food. While offering a few tidbits at this time can be beneficial, it’s crucial to avoid feeding foxes during dispersion season, as this can lead to dependence on humans for sustenance, ultimately jeopardising their survival skills and natural instincts.

Keep Them Wild

When foxes become habituated to human presence, they face heightened risks, including health issues from unsuitable diets and increased vulnerability to traffic accidents, hunting, or pest control. In urban settings, many foxes have become so habituated to associating humans with food that there have been increased reports of foxes entering homes or approaching people. While some might find this behaviour endearing, others see it as problematic and potentially hazardous.

Habituation also has broader ecological consequences. In balanced ecosystems, predators like foxes typically maintain smaller populations. When humans feed them, their numbers can become artificially inflated, disrupting the natural balance and leading to food shortages, injuries, and disease outbreaks as nature tries to restore equilibrium. This practice can diminish their natural hunting instincts, making them reliant on human-provided food. In some cases, urban foxes have even begun to exhibit physical changes compared to their rural counterparts, with research from the University of Glasgow indicating that human intervention may be driving ‘self-domestication’ in some fox populations.

This human-induced shift in behaviour and physiology highlights the impact that feeding and habituation can have on wildlife, raising concerns about the long-term effects on species and ecosystems.

Avoid Feeding, Unless necessary

If you must feed foxes (due to special circumstances), do so sparingly. Foxes have small stomachs, comparable to a large cat and we know from studies into fox diets that up to 18% of an urban foxes diet can consist of human food waste (considerably less for country foxes). We also know that foxes weigh around 4-8kg on average and need about 120 calories per kilogram of body weight per day. Foxes also consume a weight of about 400g daily, meaning that a single urban fox will eat approximately 70g of human food waste throughout a single day and then will cache the rest.

We can infer from this, that if a fox is being fed <70g of appropriate foods every 2-3 days, it is unlikely to be making them dependent on you or impacting on their health and behaviour in any meaningful way. 

Negative Impacts of Feeding Foxes

Feeding foxes can be a delightful way to connect with nature, but it’s essential to be aware of the potential long-lasting consequences that come with this practice. By understanding the impact of our actions, we can ensure a healthier and safer environment for both foxes and humans. Here are some important points to consider when it comes to feeding foxes:

1. Health Issues: Human food can lead to obesity and malnutrition in foxes, causing diseases such as diabetes and joint problems.

2. Altered Behaviour: Regular feeding can make foxes bolder, more aggressive, and increase the likelihood of road traffic accidents and human conflict.

3. Increased Mortality: Habituated foxes may lose their fear of humans and become more vulnerable to threats like vehicles and predation.

4. Disrupted Ecosystem: Feeding disrupts the natural predator-prey relationships and can increase competition with other wildlife, affecting the balance of the ecosystem.

5. Inbreeding: Artificially increased fox populations due to human feeding can lead to inbreeding, reducing genetic diversity. This lack of diversity may result in a higher susceptibility to diseases and genetic disorders.

Summary

Supporting foxes without feeding them is the best way to ensure their survival and maintain the balance of the environment. A healthy, native garden, respecting their wildness, and keeping interactions at a distance are crucial steps in fostering responsible fox watching. By staying mindful of the impacts of feeding, we can protect foxes and the ecosystems they inhabit. Let’s celebrate their natural behaviours and ensure they remain wild, free, and independent.