Page 39 - Reading Success B3

The smallest members of the dog family are foxes. Other members of the dog
family are wolves, jackals, coyotes, and our household dogs. A fox has short legs,

pointed triangular ears, a long, narrow muzzle, bushy fur, and a long, furry tail.
Sometimes their tails are as long as two-thirds of their body length.

Foxes are solitary animals, sleeping hidden in bushes or groves, their tails
curled towards their bodies for warmth. They only go to dens during the breeding

season, wherein a ‘ fox pair ’ settles down to raise their young. The mother fox
stays at the den to take care of the young while the father fox goes outside to

hunt. The fox parents take care of their children for about five months, after which
they are on their own. Foxes find different mates for each mating season.

Foxes are solitary animals rather than ‘pack animals’ because their prey are
relatively small mice, small birds and their eggs, rabbits, insects, and even

fruits and vegetable. They are known to attack farmers’ poultry, but they are also
beneficial to the farmers because they kill the rodents, too. Other members of the

dog family hunt in packs where they attack their prey together; foxes stalk their
prey first, and then pounce. Foxes have their own small territories where they hunt

prey, and which they protect from other foxes. The fastest runners among the
foxes are the red foxes, which can run as fast as 30 miles per hour.

Main Idea

What is the main idea of this story?

a. why foxes do not hunt in packs
b. some different types of foxes

c. characteristics and habits of foxes
d. foxes’ relationships with humans

42_Reading Success 3