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FOX
Vulpes
The Fox is Reynard, the Trickster, outwitting hunters and farmers alike. Its red coat blazes like autumn leaves as it runs, and its bushy tail, called a brush, serves as blanket and rudder. The Fox earths itself in burrows it often steals from Badgers, showing that cunning saves labor. It leaps high to pounce on mice hidden beneath snow, guided by the Earth's magnetic field - thus does the Fox navigate by invisible forces. In fables, the Fox flatters foolish Crows out of their cheese and escapes traps through cleverness. The Fox adapts to cities, living in our midst while we barely notice. Its bark at night sounds almost human, as if mocking our pretensions.
Habitat
Fields, forests, deserts, and urban margins
Sustenance
Mice, rabbits, berries, and garbage
Symbolism
Cunning, adaptability, the thin line between wild and tame