Red fox in Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen Nature Reserve in the Netherlands

© Edwin Giesbers/Minden Picture

A fox in the dunes. Red fox in the Netherlands

Today we're heading to the Netherlands to visit the red foxes at the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen Nature Reserve. This protected area about 12 kilometres west of Amsterdam is host to not only a diverse assortment of plants and animals, but also hundreds of specially designed sand dunes that help filter rainwater. The Waterleidingduinen ('water supply dunes') have been the source of the city's drinking water since the 19th century.

Maybe for almost as long, red fox sightings have been common at the Waterleidingduinen. They're the world's largest foxes and are widespread across the Northern Hemisphere. They tend to stick together with their families, the young often helping to care for the next generation of kits. Not fully content in the woods, red foxes are increasingly colonizing urban areas. It's just the latest in a long history of foxes sharing the planet with humans, as they appear in the folklore of Native American, Greek, Celtic, and Chinese cultures, among others.