Animal Diaries Archive

Fox Spotting

26 August 2005

Foxes are very timid and shy creatures, so you can imagine that being a fox in a busy environment like Australia Zoo can be a challenge! Unfortunately, many people miss seeing our beautiful girls because they are rarely at eye level in their enclosure. The foxes spend virtually all day (during zoo opening hours) sitting on top of their waterfall or in the rafters. Early in the morning when the girls are first let out on display, they quite often have a run around and explore the enclosure, but their favourite thing to do on ground level is to dig in their sandpit!

Foxes are largely nocturnal, so it is fairly natural for them to not be very active during the day. The reason the foxes like to be at the top of the waterfall is because the higher they are, the smaller everyone else looks. The sound of the waterfall is also quite loud at the top, meaning that the surrounding sounds are not quite so loud and intimidating. Kit, the older of our two foxes, is often found in one of the rafters, sitting up there quite calmly. She really likes to be in small spaces because it makes her feel safer. So if you are looking for our foxes – look up!