This months magazine has a story about taming foxes. Some of the pictures show the most beautiful animals. I guess I always thought foxes were kind of mangy looking like coyotes. What type do you have where you hunt? Are they red coated? Some of the silver ones in the article have the most amazing coats.
Domesticated Fox as a Pet
Where are you located, Gestalt?
Our Virginia red foxes are mostly descended from the English ones that were brought over in the 1600’s. Our gray foxes are native. Because our weather is warmer than Siberia, the coats aren’t as big, lush and thick.
I love that article! I would love to have one of those foxes. I have been in touch with some of the researchers. I hope that it will be allowed for the domesticated foxes to go to homes.
The silver foxes in the article had been bred for their pelts for the fur farms, before the start of the domestication research project in the 1950’s. Between the climate and the genetics, the fur coat is spectacular, isn’t it?
You can also see info on the Siberian fox taming project in a show called Dogs Decoded. The fox part is about half way through the show. They are very striking looking and were being held by children. These were foxes that were the product of 50 generations of breeding for nonaggression. I watched the show on Netflix instant watch and was fascinated.
Whicker, I’m in NE Oregon. Years ago when I lived on the west side of the state I remembering seeing foxes. They were quite small with the chestnut coats. The ones being bred in the article had incredibly beautiful coats.
At the end of the piece it did say one woman adopted two of the foxes and the researchers were trying to get permits to sell the tame foxes to help fund the program.
The part about the kits being born and their ears staying dropped for longer than the ones that were wilder was odd. Quite a fascinating study.
For those of you who are interested in behavioral genetics, here’s an article on the original Russian fox research:
http://hum.utah.edu/~bbenham/2510%20Spring%2009/Behavior%20Genetics/Farm-Fox%20Experiment.pdf
Fascinating article, I read it last night. I’d take one of those little guys too!
We have both red and gray in Texas. And, healthy coyotes have beautiful coats, too.
[QUOTE=altjaeger;5466477]
We have both red and gray in Texas. And, healthy coyotes have beautiful coats, too.[/QUOTE]
yea-but I’ve never heard of anyone oohing and ahhing over a “lovely coyote coat”. 
Well, now, I do have some lovely coyote fur lining the hood of one of my parkas!
[QUOTE=Gestalt;5466616]
yea-but I’ve never heard of anyone oohing and ahhing over a “lovely coyote coat”. :)[/QUOTE]
Well you would from me. I have a stunning full length Coyote that I love. Those that don’t give me the stink-eye or call me a murderer (while they stand there in leather and plether with their shopping bag full of factory farmed meat etc) tend to ohh and ahh over the beauty of the fur.
Living in southern Ontario but frequenting the north you see a very large difference between the southern, more suburban wildlife than the northern. Larger size, nicer coats etc in the northern animals. Even the crows and ravens are much bigger up north.
The cold is healthy!! I could never live somewhere that did not get a real freeze…freaks me out!!
That is a very cool article and those foxes are gorgeous.
