Urban Fox Survey

The Urban Fox Survey invites the public to help gather information on Red Fox distribution and expand the knowledge on their relationship with urban environments in Ireland.

Photo: Jamie Hall

Why do we need an  Urban Fox Survey?

The urban ecology of our wild animals has become increasingly relevant with the spread of urbanisation across the globe. Red Foxes are a prime example of a species learning to adapt to these rapidly changing environments. Understanding their distribution and behaviour across Irish urban areas can shed light on the needs of the animals and the potential of cities to provide for them.

This project will provide valuable data for conservation planning in Ireland and finding solutions for potential human/wildlife conflicts. Our study will focus on the 7 most populated cities/towns across the island of Ireland; Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Derry, Galway, and Waterford.

The Red Fox

Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are widespread across Ireland and are characterised by their red fur, bushy tails and dog-like appearance.
This versatile species is primarily nocturnal with a diverse diet which allows it to exploit a wide range of habitats. As omnivorous opportunists, urban foxes feed mostly on scavenged meat, invertebrates, fruit, and anthropogenic food in cities.

Fox activity increases during mating season in January and February and vixens birth cubs between March and April. Urban foxes are frequent visitors to residential areas and often seek gardens to raise cubs.

Signs of Foxes

Evidence of fox activity can be found in various forms, including tracks, scat, prey remains, fur clumps, and trampled flowerbeds.

The paw prints of foxes vary from dogs with a more oval pad pattern, with the central digits sitting in front of the outer pair.

Due to their broad diet, fox scat can be tightly packed with a range of contents including fur, bone shards, feathers, seeds, and beetle chitin. They can be differentiated from dog faeces by the presence of a tapered curl at the end. Foxes can harbour parasites so we recommend you don’t handle their droppings!

Credit: Marc Baldwin

CONTACT US

For any queries regarding the Urban Fox Survey project, please email Urbanfoxsurvey@gmail.com

Please consider supporting the project further by following the following social media platforms!

Please provide as much information as possible about your Fox sighting(s).

What was observed?

Alive or Dead:*

Abundance: *

Age:*

Certainty:*

Please note: if you have had an expert confirm the identification of a record please add their name in the 'Determiner' field. This will help when the record is being verified.

Determiner:

Record comment:

Photos:

Your details.

Your contact details

First name: *

Last name: *

Email: *

Telephone Number:

Do you feed the foxes?

How do you regard foxes?

Any additional recorder(s) names.

Name(s) of any additional recorder(s):

Date of your sighting.

Date of sighting (required): *

Time of sighting:*

Please provide the spatial reference and site name for the record.

Search for a place on the map:

This gives us an approximate grid reference for the location. We'll then move the map so that you can click on it to provide an accurate position for the record(s). Note: contents of this field will not be retained as part of the record.

Spatial reference: *

By clicking on the map the spatial reference will autofill. The more you zoom in, the more accurate the grid reference.

Site name: *

For example the nearest town, village, park, nature reserve etc.
Do not enter a postal address as the information you provide will be visible to others.

Habitat:*

Additional detail if "Other" habitat selected:

Notes about using the map:
use the + sign on the right hand side of the map to change the base mapping used from Google to OpenStreetMap.
To create an accurate and useful record, use your mouse to drag the area of interest to the centre of the map window and use the zoombar on the left hand side to zoom in tight to the area where you made the sighting. When you have zoomed in, click on the location - this will autofill the Spatial Reference box above.