Following newborn fox pups
Learn how a female red fox cares for her newborn kits during their first weeks of life in this video.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
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Transcript
A forest in northern Germany. In an underground den, a female red fox has given birth to young. The tiny cubs are just a day old. Each weighs less than a hundred grams and is no larger than a mole. The mother tenderly cleans the newborn cubs and keeps them close to her for warmth. They are unable to regulate their own temperature as yet, so they have to huddle close to her and each other. The youngsters instinctively feel their way towards the teats. They're still completely blind, but their tiny noses show them the way. For the next few weeks, the cubs will depend entirely on her milk and do little else but feed and sleep. Their mother will not leave the den for the next few days and after that only briefly to find food for herself. Her priority now lies with her young cubs.