Fox size

[Gordon R]

Out for a walk by the canal, near to my home. We saw a fox on the other side. It appeared to be about 22" at the shoulder and looked to be 40-45 lbs in weight. I am familiar with dog breeds and think I have a reasonable grasp of size, but this was by far the largest fox I have ever seen. Probably only seen about 20 in my life.

Is this on the large size for a fox, am I just out of touch or are my eyes and judgement failing me?

[chrisjpainter]

Sure it wasn't a big cat? Got a grainy, out of focus photo for us?

[Yellow Bear]

Could it have been a Toller?

[Gordon R]

😀 Sadly - no dodgy photos. We got a good look at it - only the width of the canal, plus about 20 feet the other side. 

Not a Toller or any other breed of dog. No mistaking the large bushy tail.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Gordon R

[old'un]

If it was a fox, 22 inches at the shoulder is big, perhaps its been on the famous “Lancashire Meat Pies”

[Dougy]

They look allot heavier, bigger with winter coats. Shot quite a few recently that look bigger than they are. 

[Gordon R]

It would have taken a hundred Hollands meat pies to bulk it up that much.😃  Dougy - you have a point. It looked tall and bulky, unlike other foxes I have seen, albeit not a lot of them.

[oowee]

I shot this one which looked to be huge but was not as heavy as I thought when I checked it out (cant remember what weight). Still a big boy but paled into insignificance by the Lupton special. 

[Walker570]

I have come across some very large foxes over the years and would not doubt your belief.  Usually old dog foxes.  Yes their winter coats also make them appear much larger and heavier than they are.   18 inches at the shoulder would be a very large fox, so think your estimation may be a bit over the top.

[Wb123]

I saw a beast of a fox driving to work the other morning just before dawn. Most terrifyingly it clearly knew its green cross code. 

[walshie]

Foxes generally weigh a lot less than you'd imagine. I shot a massive vixen in my garden a while back and as she was next to my shed with my fishing tackle, I used my fishing scales to weigh her. She weighed 24lb. I've seen bigger dog foxes, but not much. 

[Munzy]

2 hours ago, Wb123 said:

I saw a beast of a fox driving to work the other morning just before dawn. 

How do you know he was on his way to work?

[Fisheruk]

4 minutes ago, Munzy said:

How do you know he was on his way to work?

🤣🤣🤣

[Longbower]

I shot a Vixen late this afternoon , with a 12G Auto. And she was a big girl . More than three times the size , of 'Peanut' , the Jack Russell.

[dogone]

2 hours ago, walshie said:

Foxes generally weigh a lot less than you'd imagine. I shot a massive vixen in my garden a while back and as she was next to my shed with my fishing tackle, I used my fishing scales to weigh her. She weighed 24lb. I've seen bigger dog foxes, but not much. 

    I have shot a lot of red fox but never weighed any. I have weighed many coyotes and the heaviest was 38 lbs with most 26-28. That would make your 24 pounder a huge fox.

     Did see a fox skin at a fur buyer that was huge. Bigger than most coyotes beside it.

[discobob]

9 hours ago, Munzy said:

How do you know he was on his way to work?

He must of had clean overalls on!!!

[mel b3]

I've shot plenty of foxes over the years , but the biggest one I ever shot(by a long way)was a vixen . I didn't weigh it , but it was freakishly large.

I also remember shooting a dog fox with a huge pair of testicles , I can only assume that it had some kind of problem as the things were hanging halfway down it legs .

[henry d]

Just an observation but just about every time a fox gets spotted by the beaters line it tends to be "...huge thing, massive brush on it!"

[discobob]

18 hours ago, mel b3 said:

, I can only assume that it had some kind of problem as the things were hanging halfway down it legs .

I can confirm that it is a problem - getting the right support is a must - I speak from personal experience 😂

[amateur]

Just now, discobob said:

I can confirm that it is a problem - getting the right support is a must - I speak from personal experience 😂

Wheelbarrow?

[discobob]

Just now, amateur said:

Wheelbarrow?

🤣🤣

[Vince Green]

On 06/12/2020 at 15:00, Gordon R said:

Out for a walk by the canal, near to my home. We saw a fox on the other side. It appeared to be about 22" at the shoulder and looked to be 40-45 lbs in weight. I am familiar with dog breeds and think I have a reasonable grasp of size, but this was by far the largest fox I have ever seen. Probably only seen about 20 in my life.

Is this on the large size for a fox, am I just out of touch or are my eyes and judgement failing me?

Gordon, you have only seen 20 foxes in your life? I can see more than that in an average month. They walk round here like they own the place, if they see you they just give you a glance and carry on walking.

Some of the urban dog foxes grow very big because they live so well, but they tend not to live long.. 22" at the shoulder does seem a but excessive, 18" maybe

[Gordon R]

Vince - 50 metres from home and it is countryside - fields, canal, river, woods, country park. When we had dogs, we walked them every single day, but rarely saw foxes. The ones I have seen have been in city centres or when driving.

Reading the posts. I think my judgement must be awry, as 22" seems to be exceptional. That said - that is what it looked like. My wife commented on its height and weight, when she drew my attention to it. Another couple who walked past also commented on the size of it. Dougy probably hit the nail on the head with the winter coat. It look quite bulky. 

Whilst weight wise, it looked heavy, our own experience is with German Shepherds and Akitas, where the weights ranged from 85 lbs to 140lbs.

[Vince Green]

1 minute ago, Vince Green said:

Gordon, you have only seen 20 foxes in your life? I can see more than that in an average month. They walk round here like they own the place, if they see you they just give you a glance and carry on walking.

Some of the urban dog foxes grow very big because they live so well, but they tend not to live long.. 22" at the shoulder does seem a but excessive, 18" maybe

 

1 hour ago, Gordon R said:

Vince - 50 metres from home and it is countryside - fields, canal, river, woods, country park. When we had dogs, we walked them every single day, but rarely saw foxes. The ones I have seen have been in city centres or when driving.

Reading the posts. I think my judgement must be awry, as 22" seems to be exceptional. That said - that is what it looked like. My wife commented on its height and weight, when she drew my attention to it. Another couple who walked past also commented on the size of it. Dougy probably hit the nail on the head with the winter coat. It look quite bulky. 

Whilst weight wise, it looked heavy, our own experience is with German Shepherds and Akitas, where the weights ranged from 85 lbs to 140lbs.

Gordon I am going to a shooting club tonight, thats a 25 mile round trip mixed urban and rural, both ways in the dark. If I don't see at least one fox I would be very surprised

[Gordon R]

Vince - never saw a badger until 1980, in Sunningdale. About thirty years ago, I drove to near Bournemouth with a mate, picking up a Clumber Spaniel pup. From memory we counted something like 27 dead at the side of the road - all within about 40 miles of our destination. Only seen two since then - dead on the side of the M66.