Abstract
A control aqueous solution containing alcohol and polyethylene glycol, and a test solution with the addition of a mixture of eight volatile synthetic compounds identified in red fox urine, Were alternately placed on man-made mounds of fresh snow during January and February, the foxes' courtship season. The foxes preferentially marked those mounds treated with the test solution in the two experimental areas (P < 0.05 and <0.0001). It is concluded that one or more of the volatile substances induces mound marking in this species.
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Whitten, W.K., Wilson, M.C., Wilson, S.R. et al. Induction of marking behavior in wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) by synthetic urinary constituents. J Chem Ecol 6, 49–55 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987526
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987526