January-to-February is mating time for red foxes in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region.
Red foxes pair for life. They remain together from midwinter through summer. In autumn the foxes are solitary but reunite in winter for mating in January or February. Following a period of about 51 days, four to six young are born in late March or early April.
— Guide to the Mammals of Pennsylvania, p. 252 — Joseph F. Merritt
People usually don’t see foxes mating but Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis came upon this pair in January 2013 at Hain’s Point Golf Course in Washington, DC. Click here for another photo with this description:
We came across these two red fox who appeared to be stuck together. Our first thought was that they were mating. But they were facing in opposite directions. Having not read the Kanine Sutra we were unaware if this position was even possible for coitus. The predicament went on for a few minutes and they remained entangled. We wondered if there was some glue or piece of trash or something which was keeping them together. The classic Washington dilemma then popped up: Which Agency Do I call?
311 is the city’s catch-all number; from there we could get animal control. BUT we were on Federal property managed by the National Park Service; Do we backtrack to the Park Police substation? Thankfully they freed themselves before we became entangled in the overlapping jurisdictions. The two animals were hurting, but licked their wounds, stretched, and trotted off.
— description of photo at Wikimedia Commons
Hain’s Point Golf Course, Washington, DC. January 2011
If foxes mate in January, they have kits in March.
(photo by Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis at Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)
There is a pair of Red foxes that mate at Crooked Creek every year and last 4 years have moved the den around but usually IN the rocks of the dam….I sat for an hour 2 years ago in my car watching her with 6 kits and taking over 100 photos..in one photo she was standing and letting 4 of them milk and in a few they were playing like pups right beside her and in one photo I took there are 2 that are looking at me and was looks as if it’s wondering who/what I am