The answer to whether foxes eat grass is yes, they do, but it is not a primary source of nutrition for these adaptable animals. Foxes are classified as opportunistic omnivores, meaning their diet is highly varied and they consume both animal and plant matter depending on what is most easily available in their environment. The consumption of grass is a distinct, non-nutritional behavior that serves specific physiological functions.
Defining the Fox Diet
Foxes are skilled hunters whose diet centers predominantly on animal protein, classifying them as generalist omnivores with a carnivorous lean. The majority of their food consists of small mammals, such as voles, mice, and rabbits, which in rural areas can account for approximately 50% of their total intake. They are also opportunistic foragers, supplementing their meals with birds, eggs, and carrion.
Insects and other invertebrates, like earthworms and grubs, form a significant component of the fox diet, especially during warmer months. The specific makeup of their diet shifts dramatically depending on the season and their habitat, whether they live in a wild forest or an urban setting. This adaptive strategy allows them to thrive by consuming whatever food source requires the least energy to obtain.
Reasons for Grass Consumption
Foxes consume grass not for its caloric content, but as a form of self-medication and a digestive aid. Grass is a fibrous plant tissue that is largely indigestible to a fox, whose system is primarily designed to process meat. This indigestibility is precisely what makes the grass useful to the animal’s digestive tract.
The ingestion of grass acts as a mechanical purgative to clear the digestive tract of unwanted materials. By swallowing long, coarse blades, a fox stimulates the muscular contractions of the stomach and intestines. This action helps to eliminate items like hairballs, ingested during grooming, or undigested fragments of bones and feathers from their prey.
Furthermore, consuming fibrous grasses helps reduce the burden of intestinal parasites. Studies show a co-occurrence of grasses and parasites in the scat of various carnivores, suggesting the abrasive nature of the plant material helps to physically expel parasitic worms from the gut. This instinctual behavior allows the fox to manage its internal health.
Other Vegetation in the Fox Foraging Strategy
While grass is consumed for functional reasons, other types of vegetation are eaten by foxes for their actual nutritional value. Foxes actively seek out fruits and berries as a seasonal supplement to their meat-heavy diet. This plant matter provides carbohydrates, vitamins, and sugar energy that are not abundant in animal prey.
Specific examples of preferred vegetation include blackberries, raspberries, plums, and apples, which are consumed when ripe and readily available. During the autumn, when soft fruits are abundant, plant matter can constitute a significant portion of a fox’s diet, sometimes making up between 10% to 30% of their total food intake. Foxes also forage for nuts, such as acorns and hazel nuts, and will occasionally dig up roots and tubers.