Baby Silver Foxes at Denmark's Munkholm Zoo take in the rays while Dad stands guard. Silver Foxes' unique coloring is actually a genetic adaptation. Thanks to Linzse for these photos from only two days ago.
The Newest, Cutest Baby Animals from the World's Zoos & Aquariums
13 responses to “Silver Fox Babies Love to Lounge”
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The marking on their faces is different and cute.
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wait, all coloring is genetic adaptation. In what way is it particularly interesting? I bet there is a story there…
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The pups are cute, but the dad has such character! I love their markings too. Thanks for sharing these cuties!
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This is one peculiar instance where the adult is just slightly cuter than the babies. A very handsome fellow, indeed!
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Have you noticed the pic of Dad watching.. in the background, you can see one being sneaky behind Dad’s back? Too cute.
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They are so furry!
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yeah hahaha lol at “genetic adaptation”- all adaptations are genetic!
I really love these foxes. -
Feet and eyes are also genetic adaptions, so the description confuses me.
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Perhaps unrelated but interesting is the story of the Russian experiment to domesticate the silver morph of the red fox. They discovered that selectively breeding for just tameness (i.e. not attacking or fleeing from a gloved hand stuck into the cage) produced animals with a whole host of features associated with domestic dogs: barking, floppy ears, color patterns, etc.
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I love their coloring! I have dogs, A chow X and A lab X.
Araya
http://www.stabledays.typepad.com -
Sorry, those aren’t silver foxes. Those are marble foxes.
http://www.tinytracksexoticanimals.com/fox.html
I got my baby fox here, she’s a marble and I love her soo much! She’s such a good girl, but she likes to rummage around in my hamper and steal my clothes, lol. -
Yeah, I was just about to say what Araya just said (Ok, well, 7 months ago) – these definitely are not the silver color phase- these are marble foxes (also read as arctic marble foxes, but they aren’t arctics either.)… You could have at least said red fox, because then you couldn’t be wrong, because they’re all under the same genus under that name. Sorry, that just bothered me, I had to comment on it. =/
Oh, and I think what they meant by “genetic adaptations” was that they gene doesn’t occur in the wild… Even though that still doesn’t make sense- they wouldn’t even be adapting TO anything, it’s just genetic variation/”mutation” created ‘by man’.
Ah well, I’m sorry- I feel rude commenting nearly 8 months after it was posted just to say that…
But in any case, they’re very very cute! =D -
To clarify on why the silver fox’s coloring is so unique…
These are most probably actual silver foxes, not marble foxes, or any other color. There was an experiment (a failed one, I might add) by the fur industry to make a tame silver fox, I presume to reduce handling injuries. The industry set out to tame the silver fox, but what started happening surprised everyone. As they selected for no trait but tameness (remember, fur industry wants those nice silver pelts) foxes like the ones above started appearing. Other changes included floppier ears and curlier tails, along with unpredictable tail length. They discovered that “tame” foxes produce less adrenaline than their wild counterparts. Still, it took a bit for someone to make the connection that the adrenal gland affects melanin production, and thus coat color. So, the “tame” silver fox produces less adrenaline, thus meaning that their coat color varies immensely.
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