Red Fox: The Catlike Canine by J. David Henry

“Biologists who have radio-tracked foxes for long periods have found that they spend a great portion of their time traveling along an edge of countryside where two habitats meet; for example where woods and meadows join. The fox’s preference for edge environments can be understood by looking at the links among vegetation, the fox’s prey, and the fox’s hunting behavior. Often vegetation is more dense and diverse in the transition zone between two habitats because plants from both sides frequently grow there. As a result of this lush vegetation, small rodents, rabbits, birds, and insects often find better food, shelter, and nesting sites in these transition zones and become more abundant. Quite understandably foxes tend to hunt where their prey is abundant—consequently foxes are often observed to be ‘predators of the edge.’”

-J. David Henry, 1986