They have the stature of wolves in the eyes of some. A fox from afar is all legs and thick brush, a silhouette under the streetlamp or a splash of orange on a hill. In a trick of perspective that would please a creative film-maker, the further away they are, the harder it is to gauge their size. And our minds tend to round upwards in our doubt.
This morning, I looked out my lounge window to see a slender figure tread on noiseless paws towards the bird bath. So small was she that for an instant I thought she was a ginger cat – but no: vulpine eyes, vulpine busyness amidst the grey February drizzle.
I measured the paving slab after she had gone. It is only 58cm – about 22 inches – across, and she could curl up within a quarter of it. Her weight? A few pounds, I would guess. Nothing most of us couldn’t hold in one hand.
Every now and again, I see miniature foxes like this. Some may be litter runts who survived to adulthood. One whom I knew well was ‘Tiny Tina’, an orphan who came to me for fostering alongside her four adopted – and normal-sized – siblings. She liked climbing to the very top of the cat play tower I gave them and sleeping there, far above them all.
But what is average for a fox? It is not an easy question to answer because – despite their maverick nature – foxes do obey one rule: Bergmann’s Rule, the general principle in nature that a species becomes bigger in the far north and south of the globe. Foxes in Scotland, Norway and other northerly realms are larger than those in south-east England, and dwarf their cousins in the Mediterranean.
I caught this fox on a trail camera in Krka National Park in Croatia some years ago, and as befits Bergmann’s rule, it is small and slender. Its long limbs, short coat and huge ears help it cope with the searing heat of this very hostile ecosystem.
It certainly seems petite compared to this large male fox from Surrey, who wandered through the garden many years ago.
In terms of an average, published data in The Mammals of the British Isles by Harris and Yalden say that a typical English vixen is 62.7cm (24in) long (plus tail) and weighs 5.4kg (12lb). For dogfoxes, it is 67cm (26in) and 6.7kg (14lb). Very occasionally, individuals topping 13kg (30lb) have been reported.
It does matter, somewhat, to the fox; certainly for males, where larger stature gives an advantage in fights. But for my little vixen, her cat-like dimensions may aid her in being overlooked by any passing people. She still has her paths to walk, like all foxes great and small.
A Walk with Wildlife 
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