Home range and activity patterns of red fox Vulpes vulpes breeding females

Abstract

Home range size and activity pattern were evaluated by radiotracking for seven red fox Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) breeding females, in the Doñana Biological Reserve, SW Spain. Mean home range size was 218 ha (SD = 76, n = 7). A home range for one of the seven females was 1129 ha for one nearly complete year and only 253 ha for the same female during the breeding season. Authors suggest that size reduction could be a result of energetical and behavioral shifts due to the breeding condition. Activity was slightly increased during nights with long resting periods during light hours. Total mean travelling distances was 6686 m in 24-hour cycles. Daytime and nighttime mean distance covered were 2101 and 4585 m, respectively.