Do red foxes bark?
Contributors to this thread:Small Game
From: Chip T.
08-Jan-15
Well, if someone had asked me a week ago I would have said that I doubt it. Wrong answer. Was up in my tree the other day and hear barking coming from behind. First thought was a neighbors dog but here comes a red fox running the creek and barking up a storm. Watched him run for 300 yards or so barking the whole time. A minute later here come another but this guy was quiet. Needless to say no deer appeared but still a great day in the stand.
From: elmer@laptop
08-Jan-15
Cool thing to see and hear. I lived on 65 acres for 13 years and got to see and hear red foxes hunt and bark almost every winter.
From: Woodsman416
08-Jan-15
All the time.
From: elkmtngear
08-Jan-15
elkmtngear's Link
I've heard gray foxes barking many times, we have quite a few around my place.
The title of the thread made me think of this (Sorry in advance)
Best of Luck, Jeff
From: loesshillsarcher
08-Jan-15
This guy was communicating by morse. so I let him have it. I have heard them bark several times.
From: Zbone
08-Jan-15
Used to raise red foxes... Yes, they make all kinds of barks, squeals, screams and squalls this time of year. It's the beginning of mating season for them...
Their peak rut is late January through early February, and pups are usually born mid to late March in my area...
From: KS Flatlander
08-Jan-15
Whenever you find yourself in deep s--t keep your mouth shut and look straight ahead!
From: White Falcon
08-Jan-15
Grays can climb trees like a cat also!
From: bow shot
08-Jan-15
+1 on Zbone ... they (and greya) can makes some really weird and freaky sounds. In my neck of the woods, at rut, they do a very strange series of hacking sounds, followed by a single goose-honk. "Hack, hack, hack, hack...HONK". No kidding.
From: Jeff Durnell
08-Jan-15
Yep, like Zbone I raised foxes for years as well. Many color variations of the red species. Had some tame ones too.
Waaa.... Waah.... Whut, whut, whut, WAAAH.
Those were the days.
Ewwww that smellllll.
From: Zbone
08-Jan-15
"Waaa.... Waah.... Whut, whut, whut, WAAAH"
Cool, I couldn't figure out how to spell that sound...8^)
From: Zbone
08-Jan-15
I'll use a "kak,kak,kak" when they squabble...8^)
From: Rocky
08-Jan-15
You could say a bark because we relate them to a dog but.....the first time I ever heard a red fox it was screaming like a child in distress. Very strange and erry sound but we call it a bark. Took many of these wary dogs with a red light. They can't see red light and when they are coming into a call it is magical.
The Rock
From: Backpack Hunter
08-Jan-15
Yup, had several bark at or around me.
From: AndyB
08-Jan-15
I witnessed the same kind of thing with a pair of grey foxes a little while back...It appeared to be a female announcing her readiness for breeding, and a male trying to find her...with a lot of 'barking' that didn't sound a lot like a dog barking.
From: Zbone
08-Jan-15
Foxes are very vocal at this time of year...
From: Z Barebow
08-Jan-15
Yes they do.
Heard it on two different occasions.
Last year I had a pair run right at me and flare off at 10'. After they split, the one barked 20-30 times. (I suspect to call the other one)
And this year I had one pass by mousing. As he covered the area, he would bark every minute or so. I could keep track as it moved.
From: spike buck
08-Jan-15
This fox sat there and barked at us as we stood there.
From: spike buck
08-Jan-15
This cross fox pup sat on the log talking to the other fox.
From: spike buck
08-Jan-15
From: TD
08-Jan-15
KS.... LOL! funny as heck, made my day....
and whenever traveling to a place no one has ever heard of....
always wear the fox hat.....
From: Hoyt
09-Jan-15
Had a couple of reds for pets when I was a kid. I'd let them out in my bedroom at night and they would run around on the hardwood floor and I'd never hear a sound..until they barked. Weird sounding bark.
Don't know that I've ever smelled an animal pen that stunk as much as a fox's. Kept them in a cage outside during the night.
From: Nick Muche
09-Jan-15
When I told my parents I was headed to Octor Mocti, they said "Wear the fox hat".
From: moon
09-Jan-15
The ones I heard were more of a cough,not definate bark MN& WIS
From: lawdy
09-Jan-15
Had them bark at me as I approached a trap. Had a 55 pound solid black coyote bark just like a dog, growl, and lunge at me last winter. I did a double take on that one. My granddaughter, 7 at the time, trapped him with a #2 3/4 double coil. I would not let her near him while I dispatched him as he was really vicious and on a grapple. I will see if I can have my daughter in law post a picture of that guy because he was huge. My granddaughter sold him to a taxidermist and got 55 bucks for him. Our trapping and hunter safety classes up here are getting as many females as males. Actually more girls than boys took the last trapping class. Good news. The bowhunting classes are similar.
From: midwest
09-Jan-15
I've heard them a few times. Use to have an active den close to my house. They make all sorts of weird noises at times.
This is not my video....just googled it up.
From: Jeff Durnell
11-Jan-15
I noticed my tame foxes made a wider variety of vocalizations than the others... at least in my presence. I miss them little buggers.
From: trkyslr
11-Jan-15
Grays do whr I live and in the dark close by if one barks it will raise the hair
From: Surfbow
11-Jan-15
One night my wife and I were awakened by what I can only describe as someone beating a sack of cats on the front lawn, turned out to be two red foxes getting a little, um, amorous...those things make some crazy noises!
From: Don K
11-Jan-15
Last year we had a den of foxes right behind the house into the hillside (15 yards from our bedroom window)
It was really neat watching all the little ones move around the hillside but man it sure messed up our sleep. The two adults would bark at all hours waking the whole house up.
