Food Habits of the Red Fox in Nebraska

Food habits of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Nebraska were deter· mined by analysis of 234 fox stomachs obtained from fur dealers during October 1978 through February 1979. Mammals were found most frequently (84%) and constituted the majority (77.4%) of the volume of food items. Cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) and jack· rabbits (Lepus sp.) were the most important items consumed based on frequency of occurrence (45.8%) and volume (49.2%). Remains of birds were difficult to identify, but ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) occurred in 6.9% of the stomachs and comprised 8.4% of the volume of items consumed. Male foxes had a higher volume of rabbits (55.6%) in their stomachs than did females (39.3%), whereas females had a higher volume (24.6%) of mice and voles than did males (14.6%). Remains of livestock and poultry in fox stomachs rarely were found (2.6%) and constituted only about 1% of the volume of the foxes\u27 diet. Game animals comprised 62.5% of the volume of the foxes\u27 diet