BIG RED FOXES 
     
    
   
   
    
     by Rosemary Curley, waterside 
     
    
   
   
    
     Fur industry people have long recognized that P.E.I.'s wild red fox is of 
     
     superior fur quality, but another reason our fox conuends top prices is related 
     
     to pelt size. we have large foxes here, and weights and measurements best 
     
     illustrate this point. Table I lists average measurenents of P.E.I. foxes, and 
     
     those from elsewhere. P.E.I.'s and all Nbrth American foxes are smaller than 
     
     European foxes, but ours are larger than most Nerth American foxes. Unfortunately, 
     
     no New Brunswick or Nova Scotia foxes have been measured, but scme representatives 
     
     from fur auction houses state that P.E.I. has larger foxes. The Newfoundland 
     
     subspecies is a typically small fox. 
     
    

    
     Table II shows upper ranges of fox measurements reported in scientific 
     
     journals, and museum publications. Again P.E.I. foxes are demonstrated as large. 
     
    

    
     The red fox herais a hybrid, since at least six different subspecies were 
     
     imported during the fur-farming heyday, but nutritional quality is probably the 
     
     main reason for the large size. 
     
    

    
     It would be interesting to see how some of our other mammals stack up size- 
     
     wise against the rest of the world. In the meantime, you can feel confident in 
     
     bragging about our red foxes. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Table I. RBported mean measurements (Huo and weights of red foxes. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Length Length 
     
     Length of Length of 
     
     Total of hind weight Total of hind weight 
     
    

    
     Location length tail foot (kg) length tail foot (kg) Source - 
     
    

    
     Illinois 1029 374 166 5.25 967 348 158 4.13 Stonm, 1972 
     
    

    
     Iowa 998 359 157 4.82 946 337 145 3.94 " 
     
    

    
     Indiana ... ... ... 5.25 ... ... ... 4.21 Hoffman and Kirk- 
     
     patrick, 1954 
     
    

    
     England 1083 412 152 6.70 1012 385 141 5.40 Kolb and Hewson, 
     
     1974 
     
    
   
   
    
     Scotland 1148 436 167 7.30 1090 411 159 6.20 " 
     
    

    
     N. Ireland 1090 367 161 6.90 1025 348 151 5.80 Fairley, 1970 
     
     U.S.S.R. ... ... ... ... ... ... .... Novikov, 1962 
     
     P.E.I. 1072 407 170 5.60 1017 382 161 4.82 Curley, 1983 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     IO