When night falls, many people might hear mysterious sounds echoing from the darkness. These nocturnal vocalizations often belong to wildlife, and among the most distinctive are the calls of foxes. Understanding the array of sounds foxes make can help demystify the nighttime soundscape and provide insight into the lives of these elusive creatures.
The Nocturnal Symphony of Fox Sounds
Foxes possess a diverse vocal repertoire, capable of producing over 20 unique sounds. The most striking and often unsettling is the “vixen’s scream,” a loud, eerie, and drawn-out wailing sound that many mistake for a human in distress. This high-pitched, shrill vocalization is primarily associated with female foxes, though males can also produce a similar sound.
Beyond the chilling scream, foxes use various barks for communication. These barks are typically short, sharp, and high-pitched. Variations include “yell barks,” “staccato barks,” and “wow-wow” barks, which sometimes resemble a duck’s quack. Another distinct sound is “gekkering,” a rapid, chattering, or clicking noise made during aggressive encounters, such as fights or playful interactions.
Softer vocalizations include whines and whimpers, often used between a mother fox and her kits to express need or seek attention. Foxes can also produce growls, indicating aggression or warning, and some red foxes even purr when they are relaxed and content, particularly when soothing their cubs.
Why Foxes Make These Sounds at Night
Foxes are primarily nocturnal, meaning they are most active during the night, so their vocalizations are commonly heard after sunset. Many of their sounds serve as essential communication tools for various purposes. A primary reason for the loud screams is related to mating, especially during the winter months.
Female foxes, or vixens, use these piercing screams to attract potential mates and signal their readiness to breed. Male foxes may respond with specific barks, such as a “hup-hup-hup” sound, and also use screams to warn off competing males.
Beyond mating, fox vocalizations play a significant role in territorial defense. Barks and screams are used to mark ownership. Male foxes might also emit low, throaty growls as a clear warning to rivals. These sounds communicate boundaries and help maintain social order within their habitat.
Foxes also use sounds to communicate with their young and warn of threats. Whines and whimpers facilitate interaction between parents and cubs, while screams can serve as alarm calls to alert others to perceived dangers.
Distinguishing Fox Sounds from Other Wildlife
Differentiating fox sounds from those of other nocturnal animals can be challenging. Coyote vocalizations, for instance, are generally longer and more varied, often consisting of plaintive, wolf-like howls, yips, and yelps, sometimes in choruses. In contrast, fox barks are typically sharper, higher-pitched, and often occur as brief, single bursts rather than prolonged sequences.
Domestic dogs also bark, but fox barks are usually higher in pitch and less repetitive than those of a typical dog. The distinctive, human-like scream of a fox is rarely produced by a dog. While some owl species can produce eerie or startling calls, they primarily hoot or make other bird-like sounds, which differ from the barks and screams characteristic of foxes.
Although red foxes can make a purring sound, their other common vocalizations like screams and sharp barks are distinctly different from the meows, hisses, or growls commonly associated with cats. The unique blend of high-pitched, often unsettling, and varied sounds sets fox vocalizations apart in the nighttime environment.