Red Fox Kits Turning Red
Red Fox kits are born not with a red coat, but a charcoal gray coat which they keep for the first month. (Coyote, wolf and other wild canid pups are also born with this color coat.) At about five weeks of age Red Fox kits begin to lose their dark natal coat and grow a new one. Once again, this second coat is not the distinct red coat of an adult, but rather a sandy-colored coat which matches the sandy soil of the den site. Now that they are spending time outside the den, but are still defenseless, camouflage is crucial. After five weeks or so, in early June, outer red guard hairs begin to grow through the sandy coat and by the end of June the kits display the bright red coats associated with adult Red Foxes.
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