what does the fox say

• Locked due to inactivity on Aug 4, '16 4:27pm

Thread Topic: what does the fox say

• Likeable_Troll Newbie

  12 years ago
  The most commonly heard red fox vocalizations are a quick series of barks, and a scream-y variation on a howl. All fox vocalizations are higher-pitched than dog vocalizations, partly because foxes are much smaller. The barks are a sort of ow-wow-wow-wow, but very high-pitched, almost yippy. It's commonly mistaken for an owl hooting. That bark sequence is thought to be an identification system; studies indicate that foxes can tell each other apart by this call.
  
  The scream-y howl is most often heard during the breeding season, in the springtime. It is...horrible. A shrill, hoarse scream of anguish, it sounds more than anything like a human baby undergoing some kind of physical torture. It's thought that this call is used by vixens (female foxes) to lure male foxes to them for mating, though males have been found to make this sound occasionally as well.
  
  The bark and scream and very loud, so they're often heard, but most other fox vocalizations are quiet and used for communication between individuals in close proximity. The most unusual is called "gekkering;" it's a guttural chattering with occasional yelps and howls, like an ack-ack-ack-ackawoooo-ack-ack-ack. Gekkering is heard amongst adults in aggressive encounters (of which there are many; red foxes are highly territorial) and also amongst young kits playing (or play-fighting). There's also the alarm call, which up close sounds like a cough but from afar sounds like a sharp bark, and is mostly used by fox parents to alert youngsters to danger.
  
  Red foxes, unlike other familiar canids like the gray wolf and coyote, do not form packs. When kits are young, they and the mother may form a small family unit, but in general, foxes are solitary. Still, they sometimes inhabit the same territory, and so have a social hierarchy which requires communication. Submissive foxes, when greeting dominant foxes, will sometimes emit piercing whines, which can elevate in volume and become shrieks. Foxes communicate with kits largely with body gestures, but also make huffing and coughing noises, and sometimes brief clucks, like a casual, short form of gekkering.

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