ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN RED FOXES (VULPES-VULPES) - IMPLICATIONS FOR TERRITORY MAINTENANCE, SOCIAL COHESION AND DISPERSAL

1. Observations on the behaviour and movements of 11 foxes from seven neighbouring groups in an urban area of Bristol were combined with post-mortem data on levels of bite wounding throughout the entire Bristol fox population to quantify the importance of encounters in the maintenance of group cohesion and territory, and to address the social subordination hypothesis (Christian 1970) regarding dispersal behaviour. 2. Inter-group encounters were uncommon and almost always aggressive, and occurred significantly more often in the winter months, when resident males trespassed into neighbouring ranges. Each fox had on average 0.77 inter-group encounters each day in winter, compared with 0.05 0.23 in spring, summer and autumn. 3. Foxes from neighbouring groups practised avoidance at close quarters, which suggests that direct encounters are a relatively unimportant means of territory defence. 4. Intra-group encounters were predominantly non-aggressive and constant in frequency throughout the year. A daily average of 2.08 intra-group encounters was recorded for each individual. Radio-collared adults rarely lay up together during the day. 5. Foxes from mated pairs came within 50 m of each other with a significantly greater frequency than was predicted from a simulation model based on statistical distributions formed by real movement parameters. This suggests that direct encounters are important in intra-group communication. 6. The highest incidence of fresh bite wounds on adult males occurred in winter and spring, coincident with the dispersal and mating periods. Total fighting injuries on animals in their first year also increased in the dispersal period from a low level in the summer. These observations are consistent with the predictions of the social subordination hypothesis.