1. the search behavior

During the rancid period, males search specifically for females ready to mate and at the same time try to out-compete competing males. In their search they often leave the home territory and cover long distances. This distance can be up to five kilometers to the home territory, in certain cases the distance can be even greater.

It can happen that more than one male scents the same female and that several males are in their vicinity. This leads to aggressive rank fights, in which it can come quite to serious injuries. The foxes are active in the Ranz partly also during the day.

2. communication

Communication plays a major role in foxes during the mating season. About 40 different sounds are known, which serve the communication. Most of them are contact sounds. The most common sound is similar to a high-pitched dog bark or a hoarse cry. The pitch of the voice varies between the sexes. Provided the male and female are known to each other, they can recognize each other by their individual sounds.

3. the scent marking

In addition to communication by sounds, communication by marking >plays a major role. In the peak phase of the ranza, both male and female mark several times during one night, with both sexes lifting their leg.

Messages can be passed on to conspecifics by this scent deposition. Males can scent a doe from several hundred meters away under favorable conditions. The typical fox scent is secreted during the rutting season from the viole, which is located about five centimeters away from the lunate root.

4. the mating act

Unlike domestic dogs, foxes are only seasonally fertile. In domestic latitudes, the procreative period extends from December to the end of February, peaking in January. In more northern parts of Europe, rutting does not begin until March. During a cycle period, each doe has only a few fertile days, usually between two and three. The receptivity of the doe can be detected by the male up to two weeks before ovulation by the scent of the mark. Red foxes are sexually mature at about ten months.

If a male meets a female ready to mate during his search, the mating act, which takes place in fox dens or outdoors, often lasts several hours. After the mating act, both partners remain connected for a certain time. The reason for the so-called "hanging" is the penis of the male, which swells to several times its normal size. It takes about half an hour until the pair separates again. Since the females usually mate with several males within their fertile days, it is possible that a litter of puppies comes from different males. The doe goes about 53- 54 days thick before she usually throws a clutch of three to six pups.

5. hunting during the rutting season of the fox

The high activity of the foxes during the rutting season can be well used by you as a hunter to hunt the redcoats. Use for hunting attractants and high seats that are located near the building, since these are often visited for mating. But also the hunt on meadows and harvested fields is promising beside the usual passes, because the males draw wide circles on the search for a doe.

Certain luring instruments are ideal for attracting the fox during the rut. Combined weapons are recommended for hunting, such as the buck rifle, the triplet and the buck triplet. The small-caliber bullet barrel is the least likely to attack the bellows, which at this time is in its winter glory.