Red Fox

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes and the most widely distributed member of the order Carnivora. It has an elongated body, short limbs and a fluffy tail about 70% of the head and body length, which reaches the ground when the fox is standing. The pupils are oval and set vertically. Despite the name, colour varies, and leucistic and melanistic animals occur. Two groups are recognised among its many subspecies: large northern foxes and small southern desert foxes (Wikipedia, general species account).

Red foxes live in pairs or in family groups sharing a territory, sometimes with helpers, usually young from the previous year, that help to rear the breeding vixen's kits. They mark territory with urine, using up to 12 different urination postures, and cache surplus food. Kits are born once a year in spring. The Wikipedia species account gives no detail specific to India, so this entry describes the species in general (Wikipedia, general species account).