A hungry red fox

The red fox is a fur-bearing animal native to most of North America and, in fact, is prevalent throughout almost the entire Northern Hemisphere.

This distant relative of the domesticated dog is one of Southeast Missouri's most beautiful wild animals. Black lower legs, bright red-orange upper body and white undersides make this an easy to identify animal. Often but not always -- as this photo attests -- the red fox will sport a flashy red tip to its tail.

This photo was taken March 6, a few days after heavy sleet blanketed the area. Undoubtedly our long cold winter has made finding food a bit difficult for this particular fox because red foxes are naturally nocturnal animals. He looks perfectly healthy, and was out hunting on one of the brightest days of the winter. Note that the fox is walking on top of the sleet. It is probably trailing a squirrel that was at the same spot only minutes before. Red foxes will eat squirrels if they can catch them.