Red fox, Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen Nature Reserve, the Netherlands

© Edwin Giesbers/Minden Picture

Red fox, 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 home 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 stay close to their families, the young often helping to care for the next generation of kits. Not fully content in the woods, red foxes are increasingly colonising 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.