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Red Fox
Volpus volpus
Where it was photographed - Spizzle Creek area of Island Beach State Park
This landlubber is quite small, rarely growing to be more than 10
pounds. Though the red fox might not often be thought of as an estuary
creature, they once lived in very large numbers in the areas along the
estuary such as Island Beach State Park. The Red Fox is no longer
common in the estuary. Though fox populations are low at he
present time, their populations are known to by cyclical. Red
fox feed off of mice, small birds, and rabbits that make their homes in
the marsh. Their preference is to hunt mice and other rodents
that live along the estuary, however they can often be seen foraging
different species of the estuary (such as in this photo). They
represent a perfect example of how mammals of the watershed can thrive
off of organisms of the estuary, just as the life in the estuary
thrives off of nutrients provided by the watershed (through creeks and
streams). The terrapin in its mouth was already dead, demonstrating
that nothing ever goes to waste in the estuary. The Red fox does not hunt turtles, this is an example of a land (or watershed)
species foraging for food in the estuary.
The Red fox is a perfect example of how the watershed and the estuary
intertwine.
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