The fox is a small to medium-sized mammal in the Canidae family, often known as the canine or canine family.
Found everywhere in the world except Antarctica, foxes prefer forested areas, but sometimes also explore grasslands, mountains and deserts.
But that doesn’t mean that foxes are so unique that you can’t find other animals like them, when you consider the thousands of fascinating wildlife.
This article takes you through some of the fox-like animals while pointing out their differences.
You will also know where these fox-like creatures are.
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Some of the fox-like animals include jackals, Korean Jindos, Finnish Spitz, coyotes, jowls, kulpeos, wolves, mountain lions, common cats, margays, red pandas, dingoes, lynxes.
But before that, let’s briefly get a clear picture of foxes so that you can identify the similarities.
The red fox is the majority of the 12 fox species, and most of its members share the red/orange color morph.
But the animals are not completely reddish-orange, because they are white on the belly with brown-black legs.
All foxes have pointed snouts, and their ears are triangular like some dogs.
They also have bushy tails and whiskers grow not only on their faces but also on their legs.
Rarely seen during the day, these cunning animals are active at night, either just wandering or looking for food.
In terms of food, meat is the priority of foxes, and the animals have excellent sense of smell and hearing and can run around 30 to 40 miles per hour, making them prolific hunters.
In terms of social behavior, foxes are primarily solitary, territorial animals and are only seen in pairs when mating or raising their young.
13 different fox-like animals
Jackals are medium-sized mammals native to Africa and Eurasia, with preferred habitats in scrubland, mountains, and savannas.
They belong to the Canidae family and are close relatives of foxes, coyotes and wolves.
Like foxes, jackals have athletic bodies suited to running long distances while maintaining a speed similar to that of their relatives.
And although jackals have relatively long ears than foxes, they have the same upright and triangular shapes.
Also, both animals have long, bushy tails.
Moreover, although social animals living in pairs, jackals strongly defend their territories against intruders, such as foxes.
Jackals also exhibit similar feeding behavior to foxes, as although they are primarily hunters, they are opportunists that devour any fruit they come across.
Korean Jindois are indigenous medium-sized dogs originating from the Jindo Islands in South Korea.
Jindo dogs are also popular in South Korean households as they make excellent pets.
Aside from their color, Korean Jindos look like foxes due to their similar body shape.
Dogs are also intelligent, like foxes.
And while Jindos are loyal to their owners when kept as pets, they are still territorial in their own right, guarding their turf from other invasive animals and strangers.
The Finnish Spitz is a medium-sized breed of dog originally from Finland.
They are kept as pets for hunting and are also the national dogs of the country.
Like foxes, these dogs are intelligent and always alert and lively, making them excellent hunters.
Although they can be found at home, Finnish Spitz can easily be mistaken for foxes, thanks to their overall body shape, including upright, triangular ears.
Dogs also show territorial behavior like foxes, protecting their owners.
Coyotes are small to medium-sized mammals native to North America.
Coyotes live in open habitats, including deserts and grasslands.
With their slender, athletic bodies, bushy tails and erect ears, these North American mammals look like foxes.
Coyotes also show similarities in behavior with foxes, being primarily carnivores, although sometimes fruit can be found on their menu.
They are also excellent hunters, like their cousins, and usually move alone and are rarely seen in pairs.
The most significant difference between these two animals is that coyotes have brown legs.
Also called red fox or red dog, dholes are canids that originate from Southeast Asia and Central and South America, and are widespread from mountainous areas to alpine meadows.
Thanks to their body type, lupins resemble foxes so that you can easily mistake them for their relatives, especially the Arabian fox, because of its color.
Animals are also excellent hunters and can kill prey much larger than themselves.
However, it should be noted that dolls are social animals that live in clans of about 40 individuals.
Culpeos are the second largest members of the Canidae family and are more closely related to wolves and jackals.
From a long distance, you would call a culpeo a fox, since due to convergent evolution, it resembles a red fox in appearance.
Culpeos is deservedly nicknamed the ‘Andean fox’ thanks to its body shape and colors that resemble many foxes.
Andean foxes also share some similar behaviors with foxes, as they lead solitary lives and only come together during mating season.
They are also omnivorous, just like their counterparts.
Wolves are among the large members of the Canidae family and are endemic to North America and Eurasia, where they live in a variety of habitats, including deserts, grasslands, forests, and tundra.
To the untrained eye, wolves and foxes are easily confused.
Wolves have body types reminiscent of foxes, including long bushy tails and erect ears.
Not only are they similar in appearance, but wolves also have more than 200 million receptors in their noses, plus a great sense of smell to locate prey up to six miles away, like foxes.
However, if you are enthusiastic, you will see that wolves have wider snouts and are larger than foxes.
Also called cougars, mountain lions are the second largest cats after tigers.
Cougars are native to the Americas and are most likely to be found in regions inhabited by deer.
Mountain lions may come from the cat family, but they are similar to foxes in some ways.
Although they have different body types, both animals have facial whiskers.
They also exhibit similar behavior, and both animals lead solitary lives.
Moreover, cougars and lions are effective nocturnal hunters, thanks to their extremely sensitive whiskers.
However, unlike foxes, mountain lions have no appetite for plant food.
Domesticated cats are other felines similar to foxes.
Despite coming from different families, cats and foxes share several physical similarities.
Both animals have erect ears, sharp retractable claws, and whiskers on their faces and legs.
Cats also exhibit some fox-like behaviors, being active at night and can reach speeds of about 30 miles per hour.
Margay is a small cat that lives in South and Central America, inhabiting deciduous and evergreen forests.
Apart from their color and size, margays resemble foxes.
They have thick fur, erect ears and long tails.
Physical similarities aside, cats lead solitary lives like foxes and spend most of their time sleeping in trees as they are nocturnal.
Also, both animals have a similar diet, although cats are not as opportunistic as foxes.
Related to raccoons, red pandas are small mammals that live in southwestern China and the eastern Himalayas.
They prefer to climb the high canopies of coniferous forests, but descend steep slopes when looking for water.
Red pandas have long tails, erect ears, and their bodies are covered with red fur like some types of foxes.
Also, these small mammals are solitary and defend their territories with the aggressiveness of foxes.
Dingos are medium-sized mammals of the Canidae family, although their taxonomic classification is debatable.
As with many dog species, dingos can be mistaken for foxes, thanks to their athletic bodies and similar physical features such as upright, triangular ears and long tails.
Moreover, like foxes, Dingos are omnivores whose diet consists of rodents, rabbits, fruits and other plant materials.
They also show nocturnal behavior when they live in warmer regions.
Young male dingoes usually live alone, but adults are often seen in packs of about 10 individuals.
Also called the red lynx, Bobcats are medium-sized cats that are endemic to North America.
Their body is covered with tan fur with black and brown stripes or spots.
Apart from erect ears, lynxes do not share many physical characteristics with foxes.
Cats, however, exhibit several behaviors that make them similar to foxes.
They are primarily solitary animals and, although they are not nocturnal, they prefer to hunt in the evening and early morning when there is little light.
Also, small animals have excellent hearing and strong senses of smell to qualify as prolific hunters.
In addition, lynxes have been known to hunt and kill animals 10 times their size, such as pronghorns.
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Most of us only catch glimpses of coyotes or foxes, and those brief encounters can leave us wondering what species we saw.
In addition to the domestic dog, three members of the Canidae family live in our country, a word that comes from the Latin word for dog “canis”. Here’s an introduction to wild dogs in the Commonwealth.
Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Of the three types, this is the one you are most likely to see.
A highly adaptable animal, it is found in most of North America, Europe and Asia and survives well in built environments.
To identify a red fox, look for these characteristics:
Black shins, as if he were wearing dark socks
A long tail, often almost as long as the body, with a white tip
This amazing animal is not just a gray red fox – it belongs to a different genus or group in the animal family tree and has some unusual features.
Like a cat, its claws can be retracted, it can climb trees and jump from branch to branch.
It is less frequently encountered because it does not wander as much and tends to stick to its forest territory.
Here’s how you’ll know you’re looking at a gray fox:
There are no black “socks” like a red fox
Adult coyotes are more than twice the size of gray foxes, and coyotes in the eastern US tend to be larger than those in the west.
The resulting animal is larger than the western coyote and has some wolf-like characteristics, including smaller ears and longer legs.
The coyote is highly adaptable and can be found in developed areas, but is usually shy and elusive.
Here’s how to spot a coyote:
Long legs
A relatively short tail with a dark tip that hangs down while running
Learn more about coyotes on our Nature and Wildlife pages and share your wild dog sightings with us here and on our Facebook page.