Foxes and Snow

[Willo]

I saw an interesting piece of fox behaviour the other night. I was coming back home from the pub one night during the snows(fairly sober so I wasn't imagining this). I had seen a couple of foxes on my way home and decided to head in to the park opposite my house where I had seen other foxes roaming. I stood in the hedge line upwind and waited. Within ten minutes I was treated to a pair walking across in front of me within twenty feet. They sat down and started grooming before a third, smaller fox joined them. After a few minutes they went out of sight before the first two reappeared a little further away and started trotting across the park. However every few metres one would stop and roll in the snow. It did this four or five times before disappearing with its partner. A magic moment and a privilege to watch these animals so close. Any suggestions why the one would repeatedly roll in the snow would be appreciated.

[Words]

That must have been great to see. I can't answer your question other than to speculate it was trying to scratch something. What was the condition of the coat of the fox doing the rolling?

[foxfan]

The foxes that come into out garden rolled in the snow
infact they had great fun playing in it,
it kinda made me stop feeling sorry for them out in the cold lol
i guess they are like dogs all the dogs that we have had rolled in the snow

[mbaldw]

Fantastic observations, on both the social and snow-rolling counts. I'd agree with the above posters; it's probably an aid to conditioning/cleaning the coat. However, I've seen dogs doing it (my parent's dog goes ballistic when it snows, tearing around all over the place, rolling in and eating it) and in these cases it seems more to do with plain fun than having any deeper meaning. Of course, if there's an interesting smell in the snow (such as scent marks placed at intervals along a snow-covered path) rolling in it could serve the same function as rolling in any mephitic substance, which most (if not all) dog owners are more than familiar with!

Cheers,
Marc.

[Willo]

It was too dark to assess the condition of the foxes coat. They did appear to be enjoying themselves. I did wonder if any parasites that may have been living in the coat would not appreciate being rubbed in the snow. I hope to get out there again when conditions are suitable and see what I can see. Shame the snow has gone as it was so easy to see them.