Abstract
Spatial organization of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes schrencki) was investigated on the basis of seasonal food distribution in the Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido from 1992 to 1994. Four periods were recorded pertaining to the distribution of 2 kinds of food resources: human food and spawning salmonid carcasses. The home range utilizations of radio-collared foxes were compared for the periods. In the periods when food was not spatially concentrated, resident foxes were territorial, showing exclusive distribution of home ranges between families, defense against intruding foxes at the edge of home ranges, and site specific dominance over intruding foxes. In contrast, during periods when food distribution was concentrated, home ranges overlapped. In the latter periods, foxes made round trips of up to 8 km from their territories to the localized concentration of food, the distance that foxes can travel within a day. This suggests that red foxes in this area have unique foraging ranges that include some seasonally available food outside their territories, and that these ranges depend on fluctuating food distribution caused by humans.
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Tsukada, H. A division between foraging range and territory related to food distribution in the red fox. J Ethol 15, 27–37 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02767323
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02767323