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Sunday, 23 February 2025

A European Old Fox Type (it is NOT a Red Fox)

 




An auctioneer labelled this as a late 19th century "European Red Fox" probably because it is a fox and "All foxes are red foxes" -right? I think that the "late 19th century" date may just be a guess but there are no black markings visible on the face or "black socks".  The odd colouration is typical of the Old foxes found in the UK before their 1860s extinction through hunting.

The fox has a characteristic head of an Mountain fox and similar to the famous Colquhoun fox and a couple others we have. 

The back of the case has been repaired and has the stamp "Product of Czechi" the Czech Republic formed in 1992.

We know of an Old type fox (possibly a Cur or Common fox)  in the Netherlands that was sent there as a hunting trophy of 1848 but that was clearly labelled. Provenance with such specimens is everything.  We know that British hunts imported the last of the Old foxes from Norway so probably helped kill them off there.  Czechia in the late 19th century would still have wild areas and it is possible that some of the Old type foxes continued on there and in other central European countries.

If we assume that this was an Old type fox shot in the late 19th century then it is an example of the Old European fox -which would have roamed Ireland, Britain and Europe until the flooding of Doggerland separated Britain and Ireland from Europe.  

That a fox specimen like this was found in Europe gives some hope that there are other examples yet to be found -but not by those claiming to be "experts£ in red foxes and who will not listen to anything but 20th century dogma.

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A European Old Fox Type (it is NOT a Red Fox)

  An auctioneer labelled this as a late 19th century "European Red Fox" probably because it is a fox and "All foxes are red f...