Foxes bark at midnight
Jan. 19th, 2006 08:07 amTaking the dogs outside last night, I heard a fox barking. At least I'm pretty sure that's what it was -- semi-high-pitched (but lower-pitched than a coyote), sort of a hoarse caterwauling. I thought I was hearing a dog at first, but it just didn't sound like a dog, and I think I'm pretty sure of where all the barking dogs in our neighborhood live (at least, the direction in which they live). My Petersen guide to animal tracks describes red fox vocalizations as squalling or barking, which would describe this nicely, and suggested that it fills much the same function as a coyote howl, a means of defining territory or communicating with others of its kind.