SMITHSONIAN (?) - Foxes have overlapping social groups consisting of one dog (male) and up to five vixen. Within the vixen, there is a clear dominance order. Usually only one female will give birth, with the other vixen helping to raise the kits.
PENNSYLVANIA WILDLIFE (11-12/99) In Pennsylvania, the following foxes were harvested by hunting or trapping:
1986 - 95,330
1993 - 25,862
1998 - 47,202
The most were taken in the southeast corner of the state (26,446 in 1998), where active farmland is most dominant.
The drop in harvest numbers is more a measure of pelt prices, with prices from $72 - $75 dollars a pelt in the mid-70’s, and the same pelt going for only $6 to $7 in 1998. With traps costing nearly the same as a pelt, and the hard work involved in trapping (traps must be checked every 30 hours), fox trapping just isn’t a lucrative business.
A Chester Co. study showed an average of 3.2 foxes per square mile, where ranges from 2.1 on "clean-farmed" areas with little cover to 12.8 on less intensely farmed and wooded areas were found. This study found an average of six pups per litter. Young dispersed by fall, traveling as far as 50 miles from their parents’ range. 90% of red foxes use groundhog holes as their dens. Sense of smell is their best sense.