While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others, other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives. In Arab folklore, the fox is considered a cowardly, weak, deceitful, and cunning animal, said to feign death by filling its abdomen with air to appear bloated, then lies on its side, awaiting the approach of unwitting prey. The animal's cunning was noted by the authors of the Bible who applied the word "fox" to false prophets (Ezekiel 13:4) and the hypocrisy of Herod Antipas (Luke 13:32).
In folklore, religion and mythology
Red fox
Red fox | In folklore, religion and mythology
Yes, In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox or Cadmean vixen, was a gigantic fox that was destined never to be caught. The fox was one of the children of Echidna. In Celtic mythology, the red fox is a symbolic animal In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox or Cadmean vixen, was a gigantic fox that was destined never to be caught. In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox or Cadmean vixen, was a gigantic fox that was destined never to be caught. Yes,  In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox or Cadmean vixen, was a gigantic fox that was destined never to be caught. The fox was one of the children of Echidna.
how long does it take for painted turtles to hatch
user
Hatched turtles grow until sexual maturity: 2–9 years for males, 6–16 for females.
assistant
where are they most commonly found?
user
North America
assistant
and what is their preferred domain of habitation?
user
It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific
assistant
who labelled this species for the first time?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
what do they mostly feed on?
user
It also consumes plants and skims the surface of the water with its mouth open to catch small particles of food.
assistant
are they preyed on by other animals?
user
Garter snakes, crows, chipmunks, thirteen-lined ground and gray squirrels, skunks, groundhogs, raccoons, badgers, gray and red fox, and humans.
assistant
where did this particular species of fox you just mentioned originate?
user
The species is Eurasian in origin, and may have evolved from either "Vulpes alopecoides" or the related Chinese "V. chikushanensis", both of which lived during the Middle Villafranchian
assistant
when did they migrate to north america?
user
Red foxes colonised the North American continent in two waves: during or before the Illinoian glaciation, and during the Wisconsinan glaciation.
assistant
do they appear in any myths or legends?
user
Red foxes feature prominently in the folklore and mythology of human cultures with which they are sympatric. In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox or Cadmean vixen, was a gigantic fox that was destined never to be caught. The fox was one of the children of Echidna. In Celtic mythology, the red fox is a symbolic animal. In the Cotswolds, witches were thought to take the shape of foxes to steal butter from their neighbours. In later European folklore, the figure of Reynard the Fox symbolises trickery and deceit. He originally appeared (then under the name of "Reinardus") as a secondary character in the 1150 poem "Ysengrimus".
Red fox | In folklore, religion and mythology
While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others, other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives. In Arab folklore, the fox is considered a cowardly, weak, deceitful, and cunning animal, said to feign death by filling its abdomen with air to appear bloated, then lies on its side, awaiting the approach of unwitting prey. The animal's cunning was noted by the authors of the Bible who applied the word "fox" to false prophets (Ezekiel 13:4) and the hypocrisy of Herod Antipas (Luke 13:32).
Red fox | In folklore, religion and mythology
He reappeared in 1175 in Pierre Saint Cloud's "Le Roman de Renart", and made his debut in England in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Nun's Priest's Tale". Many of Reynard's adventures may stem from actual observations on fox behaviour; he is an enemy of the wolf and has a fondness for blackberries and grapes. Chinese folk tales tell of fox-spirits called "huli jing" that may have up to nine tails, or "kumiho" as they are known in Korea. In Japanese mythology, the kitsune are fox-like spirits possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form.
Red fox | In folklore, religion and mythology
The fox was a symbol of fertility in ancient Greece, but a weather demon in northern Europe, and a creature of the devil in early Christianity; the fox is presented as sly, greedy, and cunning in fables from Aesop onwards. The big bad wolf is known to children in tales such as "Little Red Riding Hood", but is a demonic figure in the Icelandic Edda sagas, where the wolf Fenrir appears in the apocalyptic ending of the world. In the Middle Ages, belief spread in werewolves, men transformed into wolves. In ancient Rome, and in ancient Egypt, the wolf was worshipped, the she-wolf appearing in the founding myth of Rome, suckling Romulus and Remus.
Predation | Symbolic uses
Red foxes colonized the North American continent in two waves: during or before the Illinoian glaciation, and during the Wisconsinan glaciation. Gene mapping demonstrates that red foxes in North America have been isolated from their Old World counterparts for over 400,000 years, thus raising the possibility that speciation has occurred. In the far north, red fox fossils have been found in Sangamonian deposits in the Fairbanks District and Medicine Hat. Fossils dating from the Wisconsian are present in 25 sites in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Although they ranged far south during the Wisconsinan, the onset of warm conditions shrank their range toward the north, and they have only recently reclaimed their former American ranges because of human-induced environmental changes.
American red fox | Origin
Red foxes colonised the North American continent in two waves: during or before the Illinoian glaciation, and during the Wisconsinan glaciation. Gene mapping demonstrates that red foxes in North America have been isolated from their Old World counterparts for over 400,000 years, thus raising the possibility that speciation has occurred, and that the previous binomial name of "Vulpes fulva" may be valid. In the far north, red fox fossils have been found in Sangamonian Stage deposits in the Fairbanks District and Medicine Hat. Fossils dating from the Wisconsinan are present in 25 sites in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming.
Red fox | Colonisation of North America
And that is why they call it Red Coulee. People still stop by there today to give offerings for all who lost their lives.
Blackfoot mythology | Legend of Red Coulee
The ancestors of the Cascade red fox colonized North America after crossing the Bering landbridge during the Illinoian glaciation over 300,000 years ago. During the Wisconsin glaciation, they were pushed south to escape to ice free forests. From that point, they adapted to the colder climate and became distinct. After the glaciation, they moved up into the mountains where conditions were similar.
Cascade red fox | North American colonization
Phylogeographical and genetic analysis of the eastern American red fox suggests that foxes first migrated to North America during the Illinoian glaciation (300,000 to 130,000 years before present) and spread southward (Aubry et al., 2009) More recently, the Wisconsin glaciation (100,000 to 10,000 before present) separated the North American fox population into two distinct areas (Aubry et al., 2009). North American red foxes are genetically distinctive from their Eurasian counterparts (Aubry et al., 2009; Frey 2013). Despite claims of historical translocations from Europe, modern red fox populations in the United States’ southeastern region have been shown to be native to North America (Statham et al., 2012).
American red fox | North American colonization and native status
There are three main colour morphs; red, silver/black and cross (see "Mutations"). In the typical red morph, their coats are generally bright reddish-rusty with yellowish tints. A stripe of weak, diffuse patterns of many brown-reddish-chestnut hairs occurs along the spine. Two additional stripes pass down the shoulder blades, which, together with the spinal stripe, form a cross. The lower back is often a mottled silvery colour. The flanks are lighter coloured than the back, while the chin, lower lips, throat and front of the chest are white. The remaining lower surface of the body is dark, brown or reddish. During lactation, the belly fur of vixens may turn brick red.
Red fox | Fur
Coyote is compared to both the Scandinavian Loki, and also Prometheus, who shared with Coyote the trick of having stolen fire from the gods as a gift for mankind, and Anansi, a mythological culture hero from Western African mythology. In Eurasia, rather than a coyote, a fox is often featured as a trickster hero, ranging from kitsune (fox) tales in Japan to the Reynard cycle in Western Europe. Claude Lévi-Strauss, French anthropologist proposed a structuralist theory that suggests that Coyote and Crow obtained mythic status because they are mediator animals between life and death.
Coyote (mythology) | Functional cognates
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, as well as the rest of Santa Claus's reindeer, originated as fictional but have become an integral part of Western festive legend.
Deer in mythology | Manufactured mythology
Stories of Tamamo-no-Mae being a legendary fox spirit appear during the Muromachi period as otogizōshi (prose narratives), one of which is titled "Tamamizu monogatari" (or "The Tale of Tamamizu") and were also mentioned by Toriyama Sekien in "Konjaku Hyakki Shūi". Edo period folklore then conflated the legend with similar foreign stories about fox spirits corrupting rulers, causing chaos in their territories. In the story told by Hokusai, formed in the Edo period, the nine-tail fox first appeared in China and possessed Daji, concubine of Shang dynasty's last ruler King Zhou. She enchanted the king and brought upon a reign of terror that led to a rebellion that ended the Shang dynasty.
Tamamo-no-Mae | Legends
The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted the fox in their art. The Moche people believed the fox to be a warrior that would use his mind to fight. The fox would not ever use physical attack, only mental. In the Uncle Remus collection of 19th-century African-American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, "Br'er Fox" is a major character, often acting as the antagonist towards the stories' main character, "Br'er Rabbit".
Foxes in popular culture, films and literature | Americas
Hall has shown that the mythic cycle of Red Horn and his sons has some interesting analogies with the Hero Twins mythic cycle of Mesoamerica.
Ho-Chunk mythology | Red Horn
The three subspecies in the montane clade separated after the Wisconsin glaciation, 15 to 20,000 years ago, with the Columbia River perhaps dividing the Cascade and Sierra Nevada red foxes. However, prior to 2010, montane red foxes in Oregon were presumed to be the Cascade red fox. Earlier literature therefore indicates incorrect ranges for the Cascade and Sierra Nevada red fox. Documented trapping of the Sierra Nevada red fox may have begun when Moses Schallenberger of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party spent the winter of 1844-45 at Donner Pass, taking an average of one red fox every two days.
Sierra Nevada red fox | History
The species is Eurasian in origin, and may have evolved from either "Vulpes alopecoides" or the related Chinese "V. chikushanensis", both of which lived during the Middle Villafranchian. The earliest fossil specimens of "V. vulpes" were uncovered in Baranya, Hungary dating from 3.4-1.8 million years ago. The ancestral species was likely smaller than the current one, as the earliest red fox fossils are smaller than modern populations. The earliest fossil remains of the modern species date back to the mid-Pleistocene in association with the refuse of early human settlements. This has led to the theory that the red fox was hunted by primitive humans as both a source of food and pelts.
Red fox | Origins
The figure of Reynard is thought to have originated in Lorraine folklore from where it spread to France, Germany, and the Low Countries. An extensive treatment of the character is the Old French "Le Roman de Renart" written by Pierre de Saint-Cloud around 1170, which sets the typical setting. Reynard has been summoned to the court of king Noble, or Leo, the lion, to answer charges brought against him by Isengrim the wolf. Other anthropomorphic animals, including Bruin the bear, Baldwin the ass, and Tibert (Tybalt) the cat, all attempt one stratagem or another. The stories typically involve satire whose usual butts are the aristocracy and the clergy, making Reynard a peasant-hero character.
Reynard the Fox | In medieval European folklore and literature
Red Horn (also known as 'He Who Wears (Human) Faces on His Ears') is found in the oral traditions of the Ioway, and Hocągara (Winnebago) (whose ethnology was recorded by anthropologist Paul Radin, 1908–1912). The Red Horn Cycle depicts his adventures with Turtle, the thunderbird Storms-as-He-Walks ("Mą’e-manįga") and others who contest a race of giants, the "Wąge-rucge" or "Man-Eaters", who have been killing human beings whom Red Horn has pledged to help. Red Horn eventually took a red haired giant woman as a wife. Archaeologists have speculated that Red Horn is a mythic figure in Mississippian art, represented on a number of Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC) artifacts.
Ho-Chunk mythology | Red Horn
Red deer are widely depicted in cave art found throughout European caves, with some of the artwork dating from as early as 40,000 years ago, during the Upper Paleolithic. Siberian cave art from the Neolithic of 7,000 years ago has abundant depictions of red deer, including what can be described as spiritual artwork, indicating the importance of this mammal to the peoples of that region (Note: these animals were most likely wapiti ("C. canadensis") in Siberia, not red deer). Red deer are also often depicted on Pictish stones ("circa" 550–850 AD), from the early medieval period in Scotland, usually as prey animals for human or animal predators.
Red deer | Red deer in folklore and art
The story of the preaching fox found in the Reynard literature was used in church art by the Catholic Church as propaganda against the Lollards. Reynard's principal castle, Maupertuis, is available to him whenever he needs to hide away from his enemies. Some of the tales feature Reynard's funeral, where his enemies gather to deliver maudlin elegies full of insincere piety, and which feature Reynard's posthumous revenge. Reynard's wife Hermeline appears in the stories, but plays little active role, although in some versions she remarries when Reynard is thought dead, thereby becoming one of the people he plans revenge upon.
Reynard the Fox | In medieval European folklore and literature
Although they ranged far south during the Wisconsinan, the onset of warm conditions shrank their range toward the north, and have only recently reclaimed their former American ranges because of human-induced environmental changes. Genetic testing indicates two distinct red fox refugia exist in North America, which have been separated since the Wisconsinan. The northern (or boreal) refugium occurs in Alaska and western Canada, and consists of the large subspecies "V. v. alascensis", "V. v. abietorum", "V. v. regalis", and "V. v. rubricosa". The southern (or montane) refugium occurs in the subalpine parklands and alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada.
Red fox | Colonisation of North America
Current literature discusses whether or not the red fox is native to North America, with some research suggesting that nearly all red fox populations in North America are not native (Kamler & Ballard, 2002). "Vulpes Vulpes " is usually seen either as an exotic species introduced by Europeans during the colonization of the North American continent or as a hybrid between Eurasian and native red foxes (Frey, 2013; Aubry et al., 2009). While it is claimed that "Vulpes vulpes fulvus" stems from a nonnative population that spread westward from European introduction (Kamler & Ballard, 2002), a historical analysis of firsthand accounts does not support this claim (Frey, 2013).
American red fox | North American colonization and native status
Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre is very popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, and in chapbook form throughout the Early Modern period. The stories are largely concerned with the main character Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure. His adventures usually involve him deceiving other anthropomorphic animals for his own advantage or trying to avoid their retaliatory efforts. His main enemy and victim across the cycle is his uncle, the wolf Isengrim (or Ysengrim).
Reynard the Fox | Introduction
Cross foxes are relatively common in the northern areas of North America, and comprise up to 30% of Canada's red fox population. Cross foxes were once abundant in Idaho and Utah before being largely killed off. Cross foxes are occasionally reported in Scandinavia, having been described by Conrad Gessner and Olaus Magnus. A study based on nearly 3,000 skins of the red fox in Finland, revealed that 99% were of the reddish form, with cross foxes comprising only 0.3% of the remaining 1%.
Cross fox | Distribution
In Chinese mythology, it is believed that all things are capable of acquiring human forms, magical powers, and immortality, provided that they receive sufficient energy, in such forms as human breath or essence from the moon and the sun. It was believed that a fox would place skulls on its head, and the one that fit would transform it into a human being. The fox spirits encountered in tales and legends are usually females and appear as young, beautiful women. One of the most infamous fox spirits in Chinese mythology was Daji (), who is portrayed in the Ming shenmo novel "Fengshen Yanyi".
Huli jing | In mythology
Folklorists and cultural anthropologists such as P. Saintyves and Edward Burnett Tylor saw Little Red Riding Hood in terms of solar myths and other naturally occurring cycles, stating that the wolf represents the night swallowing the sun, and the variations in which Little Red Riding Hood is cut out of the wolf's belly represent the dawn. In this interpretation, there is a connection between the wolf of this tale and Skoll or Fenrir, the wolf in Norse mythology that will swallow the sun at Ragnarök.
Big Bad Wolf | Interpretations
Another name for him is Aatxegorri which means "young red bull". It is believed Aatxe inhabited caves and hollows; in many (Isturits, Sare, Errenteria, among others) engravings and paintings depicting aurochs, bulls, and oxen have been found; which implies that this Basque myth has its origins in the Paleolithic.
Aatxe | Introduction
The silver fox appears in the stories of many cultures. The Achomawi people of Northern California tell a myth about two creators: the wise silver fox stemming from fog and the amoral trickster coyote from the clouds. The myth reveals that while the coyote slept, the silver fox used its hair combings to create landmasses. It then thought of trees, rocks, fruits, and other resources, and created those too. However, the coyote could not employ self-control and ate everything up at will after it awoke. The story tells a moral lesson, portraying the silver fox as a wise being and creator of sorts while suggesting the coyote as a lazy, greedy and impulsive animal.
Silver fox (animal) | In culture
According to hunters' accounts, they have less vigor and endurance in the chase compared to the European variant. Some authorities still give it full species status as "Vulpes fulva". It is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, occurring in North America. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN.
American red fox | Introduction
Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of allegorical French, Dutch, English and German fables concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure. Reynard may also refer to:
Reynard (disambiguation) | Introduction
The Red Horn Mythic Cycle is from the Ho Chunk, or Winnebago people. The mythic cycle of Red Horn and his sons has certain analogies with the Hero Twins mythic cycle of Mesoamerica. Redhorn was known by many names, including "Morning Star", a reference to his celestial origin, and ""He who is Struck with Deer Lungs,"" a possible reference to the Bi-Lobed Arrow Motif. In the episode associated with this name, Red Horn turns into an arrow to win a race. After winning the race, Redhorn creates heads on his earlobes and makes his hair into a long red braid.
Southeastern Ceremonial Complex | Red Horn and his sons
In the tradition of American tall tales and folklore, not all of the narrations are complete fabrications. Instead they are highly embellished stories elaborated on personal experiences. In the narrative of Hyampom Hog Bear, a hog bear cub is found in Klamath River, California and taken by Eugene S. Bruce to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. This account is also recorded in "The Land We Live In, The Book of Conservation" by Overton W. Price. In this version Bruce did in fact catch a cub with his bare hands while trekking through the California mountains; the accompanying image stating underneath, "It [the bear] is now in the Washington Zoo, albeit the animal pictured is presumably not a hog bear.
Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts | Historical connections
Order: Carnivora, Family: Canidae Occurrence: Grasslands, open forest E W R The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a small canid native to much of North America and Eurasia, as well as northern Africa. It is the most recognizable species of fox and in many areas it is referred to simply as "the fox". As its name suggests, its fur is predominantly reddish-brown, but there is a naturally occurring grey morph known as the "silver" fox. The red fox is by far the most widespread and abundant species of fox, found in almost every single habitat in the Northern Hemisphere, from the coastal marshes of United States, to the alpine tundras of Tibetan Plateau.
Mammals of Glacier National Park (U.S.) | <a href="Red%20fox">Red fox</a>
He went to seek his visions at a place not far from a broad prairie where the giants had a village. He knew that the head of his father, whose hair had by now turned white, hung from a lodge pole there. When he called out to the spirits with a death song, the kind sung by prisoners about to be executed, the giants who heard it would immediately jump into the fire. When the old men of the village saw that so many of their people were jumping in the flames, they guessed at the cause, and ordered four warriors to guard the scalp pole.
Red Horn | Red Horn's sons
Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin's 1883 "Legends of Le Détroit" described the Nain Rouge as a dwarf, "very red in the face, with a bright, glistening eye; instead of burning, it froze, instead of possessing depth emitted a cold gleam like the reflection from a polished surface, bewildering and dazzling all who came within its focus," and with "a grinning mouth displaying sharp, pointed teeth, completed this strange face". Other accounts describe the Nain Rouge as a small creature with red or black fur covering an animal's body but with the face of an old man with "blazing red eyes and rotten teeth." According to some scholars, the legend of Nain Rouge has its origins in local Native American beliefs of spirit creatures that inhabited the region, which were subsequently retold by European colonists.
Nain Rouge | Legend
Rev. Red Fox James PH D. D. D., also known as Red Fox Skiuhushu, was a Native American, presumed to be from the Blackfoot Tribe of Montana. He is best known for riding over 4,000 miles on horseback from state to state seeking approval for a day to honor Native Americans. On December 14, 1915, he presented the endorsements of 24 state governments at the White House. Red Fox was an active member of the Society of American Indians and was the Most High Chief of the Tipi Order of America. He was also the first to organize the Indian Boy Scouts in America, at the United States Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Red Fox James | Rev. Red Fox James
The red fox ("Vulpes vulpes") is the normal prey animal of a fox hunt in the US and Europe. A small omnivorous predator, the fox lives in burrows called earths, and is predominantly active around twilight (making it a crepuscular animal). Adult foxes tend to range around an area of between square kilometres () in good terrain, although in poor terrain, their range can be as much as . The red fox can run at up to . The fox is also variously known as a "Tod" (old English word for fox), "Reynard" (the name of an anthropomorphic character in European literature from the twelfth century), or "Charlie" (named for the Whig politician Charles James Fox).
Fox hunting | Red fox
The fox appears in many cultures, usually in folklore. However, there are slight variations in their depictions. In Western and Persian folklore, foxes are symbols of cunning and trickery—a reputation derived especially from their reputed ability to evade hunters. This is usually represented as a character possessing these traits. These traits are used on a wide variety of characters, either making them a nuisance to the story, a misunderstood hero, or a devious villain. In Asian folklore, foxes are depicted as familiar spirits possessing magic powers. Similar to in Western folklore, foxes are portrayed as mischievous, usually tricking other people, with the ability to disguise as an attractive female human.
Fox | In culture
The red fox ("Vulpes vulpes") is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia plus parts of Northern Africa. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been introduced to Australia, where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included on the list of the "world's 100 worst invasive species". The red fox originated from smaller-sized ancestors from Eurasia during the Middle Villafranchian period, and colonised North America shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation.
Red fox | Introduction
Genetic testing indicates two distinct red fox refugia exist in North America, which have been separated since the Wisconsinan. The northern (or boreal) refugium occurs in Alaska and western Canada, and consists of the large subspecies "V. v. alascensis", "V. v. abietorum", "V. v. regalis", and "V. v. rubricosa". The southern (or montane) refugium occurs in the sub-alpine parklands and alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade Range, and the Sierra Nevada, and consists of the subspecies "V. v. macroura", "V. v. cascadensis", "V. v. necator", and "V. v. patwin". The latter clade has been separated from all other red fox populations since the last glacial maximum, and may possess unique ecological or physiological adaptations.
American red fox | Origin
In addition, no evidence is seen of interbreeding of eastern red foxes in California with the montane Sierra Nevada red fox "V. v. necator" or other populations in the Intermountain West (between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges to the west.
Red fox | Colonisation of North America
According to folklorist Stephen Winick, although the name "Reynardine" is found in one 19th century version, the association with foxes, as well as Reynardine's supernatural characteristics, first arise in connection with a fragment of the ballad (a single stanza) that was collected in 1904 by Herbert Hughes. The source's recollection of the ballad was that Reynardine was an Irish "faëry" who could turn into a fox. This ability (which is not suggested in any extant version of "The Mountains High") may have derived from the word "Reynardine": "renard" is French for "fox," deriving from the trickster figure Reynard. Winick points out that Hughes and a friend named Joseph Campbell (not to be confused with the mythologist) wrote short poems incorporating this stanza and the fox interpretation, aspects of which A.
Reynardine | A. L. Lloyd's contributions
A number of animal-based theories have been proposed. They include that the creature is an undiscovered variety of wild dog, a waheela (said to be a giant prehistoric wolf similar to Amarok), or a wolfdog or a coydog. It is also possible that hoaxes and mass hysteria have caused some falsehoods and sightings of normal creatures to all be artificially lumped under the same label. Concurrently with the sightings in Wisconsin, there was a rash of similar encounters in the neighboring state of Michigan. Following the release of "The Legend", a popular song about the Michigan Dogman in 1987, author Steve Cook received dozens of reports, including photograph and film evidence of the creature.
Beast of Bray Road | Explanations
In this process the creature became black, his red hair metamorphosed into a red cap, and, as the African elders who usually told the tales, he came to be always smoking his clay-and-reed pipe. His name mutated into various forms, such as "Saci Taperê" and "Sá Pereira" (a common Portuguese name), and eventually "Saci Pererê." His red cap may have been inspired on the Trasgo a mythical Portuguese creature with exact same powers as the Saci. The Saci-Pererê concept shows some syncretism with Christian elements: he bolts away when faced with crosses, leaving behind a sulphurous smell — classical attributes of the devil in Christian folklore.
Saci (Brazilian folklore) | Origins of the legend
Red Devils (, also known as The Hunt for Blue Fox, ) is a revolutionary adventure story written by the secretary of the Governorate Committee of the Kostroma RCP (B), novelist and screenwriter Pavel Blyakhin in 1921 and published in 1923–1926. The book became popular after the film adaptation of the novel in 1923.
Red Devils (story) | Introduction
Each spring at Afqa, the melting snows flood the river, bringing a reddish mud into the stream from the steep mountain slopes. The red stain can be seen feeding into the river and far out to the Mediterranean Sea. Legend held this to be the blood of Adonis, renewed each year, at the time of his death. Lucian of Samosata, a Syrian by birth, describes how a local man of Byblos debunked the legend: "'This river, my friend and guest, passes through the Libanus: now this Libanus abounds in red earth. The violent winds which blow regularly on those days bring down into the river a quantity of earth resembling vermilion.
Afqa | Mythology
The upper parts of the limbs are rusty reddish, while the paws are black. The frontal part of the face and upper neck is bright brownish-rusty red, while the upper lips are white. The backs of the ears are black or brownish-reddish, while the inner surface is whitish. The top of the tail is brownish-reddish, but lighter in colour than the back and flanks. The underside of the tail is pale grey with a straw-coloured tint. A black spot, the location of the supracaudal gland, is usually present at the base of the tail. The tip of the tail is white.
Red fox | Fur
The name is derived from the Meskwaki creation myth, in which their culture hero, "Wisaka", created the first humans out of red clay. They called themselves "" in Meskwaki, meaning "the Red-Earths". The name "Fox" later was derived from a French mistake during the colonial era: hearing a group of Indians identify as "Fox", the French applied what was a clan name to the entire tribe who spoke the same language, calling them "les Renards." Later the English and Anglo-Americans adopted the French name, using its translation in English as "Fox." This name was also used officially by the United States government from the 19th century.
Meskwaki | Etymology
In 1844, Emile Souvestre told a version of the legend in his work "Le Foyer breton". In the tale "Keris", the character of the Devil disguised as a man with a red beard appeared. His version may have come from a different oral source. His telling also played a great part in making the legend widely known, and many 19th century English tellings of the story are closely derived from this version.
Ys | Literary versions
During one winter in the late 19th century, villagers woke to find mysterious footprints in the fresh snow. It soon became apparent that these had not been made by any human as they were hoofprints made by a creature who walked on two legs and not four. Villagers followed these hoofprints and found that the creature had walked through fields, roads and even managed to walk over walls and roofs in one uninterrupted path. It was believed that the Devil had walked through Penparcau that snowy night and has never been seen back since.
Penparcau | Myth, folklore and legend
Legends about archery permeate Chinese culture. An early tale discusses how the Yellow Emperor, the legendary ancestor of the Chinese people, invented the bow and arrow: Another myth was Hou Yi shooting the sun. Other myths also feature Hou Yi battling an assortment of monsters (which were metaphors for natural disasters) using his cinnabar-red bow. "There once was a man named Cheyn who lived in a village at the foot of a mountain. One day he was attacked by a rabid rabbit. To save himself he took the branch of a tree and the sinew of a nearby dead deer and he picked up a stick off the ground and using his new contraption fired the stick and killed the rabbit.
Chinese archery | Legends
Some Northeastern tribes, such as the Miꞌkmaq and Passamaquoddy, refer to the wolverine as Lox, who usually appears in tales as a trickster and thief (although generally more dangerous than its Innu counterpart) and is often depicted as a companion to the wolf. Similarly, the Dené, a group of the Athabaskan-speaking natives of northwestern Canada, have many stories of the wolverine as a trickster and cultural transformer much like the coyote in the Navajo tradition or raven in Northwest Coast traditions.
Wolverine | In culture
Before eating, Jesus told them not to throw away a single bone, and after eating he told them to put all the bones on one pile. The lamb then came back to life and went back to the pen.
Red Lake (Croatia) | Legend
However, there are other depictions of foxes as mystical, sacred creatures that can either bring wonder or ruin. Nine-tailed foxes appear in Chinese folklore, literature, and mythology, in which, depending on the tale, they can be a good or a bad omen. The motif was eventually introduced from Chinese to Japanese and Korean cultures. The constellation Vulpecula represents a fox.
Fox | In culture
Hunters dream of the Firefox, since it has been said that catching it makes the hunter rich for the rest of his life. Firefox has given its name for northern lights which are called "fox fires" ("revontulet") in Finnish language. In Lapland it has been told that the Firefox causes the northern lights with its tail which flings sparks when it touches low hanging branches or bushes while the fox is running.
Firefox (mythology) | Introduction
After about 10 generations of controlled breeding, these foxes no longer showed any fear of humans and often wagged their tails and licked their human caretakers to show affection. These behavioural changes were accompanied by physical alterations, which included piebald coats, floppy ears in kits and curled tails, similar to traits that distinguish domestic dogs from grey wolves.
Red fox | Taming and domestication
Stories of marriages between foxes that were shown to humans are disseminated country-wide. As an example, according to folk legend, in a legend of Sōka, Saitama prefecture, in the Sengoku period, a certain woman promised to marry with her lover, but died to an illness, and foxes were inspired by the regretfulness of this situation, and thus it is said that a fox's wedding procession could be seen near the woman's grave. Also, according to a folktale in the Shinano Province (now Nagano Prefecture), there is a story where when an old man helped a little fox, he was eventually greeted by the wedding procession of the fox when it grew mature, and as a gift of thanks to the old man, he was taken along it.
Kitsune no yomeiri | Classics and legends
This folkloric motif is first recorded in literature during the High Middle Ages by the French rabbi Rashi with a Rabbinic parable in his commentary weaving together three Biblical quotations given in the main text (including one on "sour grapes") into a reconstruction of some of the Talmudic Rabbi Meir's supposed three hundred fox fables ("משלות שועלים", in later works "משלי שועלים"), in the tractate "Sanhedrin": Rashi as the first literary reference may reflect the well-known beast fable tradition of French folklore or a more obscure such tradition in Jewish folklore (see also the tradition in Berechiah ha-Nakdan); the near-contemporary Iraqi rabbi Hai Gaon also reconstructed this Rabbi Meir tale, sharing some elements of Rashi's story, but with a lion caught in a trapping pit rather than a wolf in a well – however, Rashi may have actively "adapted contemporary [French] folklore to the [T]almudic passage", as was homiletically practiced in different Jewish communities.
The Moon is made of green cheese | "The Wolf and the Fox" story type
Females are called vixens, and young cubs are known as kits. Although the Arctic fox has a small native population in northern Scandinavia, while the corsac fox's range extends into European Russia, the red fox is the only fox native to Western Europe, and so is simply called "the fox" in colloquial British English. The word "fox" comes from Old English, which derived from Proto-Germanic *"fuhsaz". Compare with West Frisian "foks", Dutch "vos", and German "Fuchs". This, in turn, derives from Proto-Indo-European *"puḱ-" 'thick-haired; tail'. Compare to the Hindi "pū̃ch" 'tail', Tocharian B "päkā" 'tail; chowrie', and Lithuanian "paustìs" 'fur'.
Red fox | Terminology
Willem's work became one of the standard versions of the legend, and was the foundation for most later adaptations in Dutch, German, and English, including those of William Caxton, Goethe, and F. S. Ellis.
Reynard the Fox | "Van den vos Reynaerde"
Once White Snow has fled into the woods, Gray Wolf takes the liver of a deer offscreen to pass off as White Snow's liver. Later that night, he visits Chief Brown Bear's tribe and states that he cannot stay. Before leaving, he gives Sly Fox a bag containing the liver which Sly Fox claims is the bear's liver that he promised her as Sly Fox plans to cook it up immediately.
Huntsman (Snow White) | "Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child"
In Norse mythology, four stags or harts (male red deer) eat among the branches of the World Tree Yggdrasill. According to the Poetic Edda, the stags crane their necks upward to chomp at the branches. Their names are given as Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. An amount of speculation exists regarding the deer and their potential symbolic value.
Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór | Introduction
The earliest historical records of fox hunting come from the 4th century BC; Alexander the Great is known to have hunted foxes and a seal dated from 350 BC depicts a Persian horseman in the process of spearing a fox. Xenophon, who viewed hunting as part of a cultured man's education, advocated the killing of foxes as pests, as they distracted hounds from hares. The Romans were hunting foxes by AD 80. During the Dark Ages in Europe, foxes were considered secondary quarries, but gradually grew in importance. Cnut the Great re-classed foxes as Beasts of the Chase, a lower category of quarry than Beasts of Venery.
Red fox | Hunting
Chief Red Fox (Lakota: "Tokála Luta," also known as Chief William Red Fox; June 11, 1870 – March 1, 1976) was an Oglala Lakota Sioux performer, actor, and Sioux Indian rights advocate, born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the Dakota Territory. He was a nephew of famed Sioux war leader, Crazy Horse.
Chief Red Fox | Introduction
The gray fox appeared in North America during the mid-Pliocene (Hemphillian land animal age) epoch ago (AEO) with the first fossil evidence found at the lower 111 Ranch site, Graham County, Arizona with contemporary mammals like the giant sloth, the elephant-like "Cuvieronius", the large-headed llama, and the early small horses of "Nannippus" and "Equus." Genetic analyses of the fox-like canids confirmed that the gray fox is a distinct genus from the red foxes ("Vulpes" spp.). Genetically, the gray fox often clusters with two other ancient lineages, the east Asian raccoon dog ("Nyctereutes procyonoides") and the African bat-eared fox ("Otocyon megalotis").
Gray fox | Origin and genetics
The red fox is a species part of the fox family, which is located in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Its body length is usually approximately 90-105 cm (35-41 inch) long, 30-40 cm (12-16 inch) of its body length being its tail, and is a height of 40 cm (16 inch). Many adult red foxes weigh 5-7 kg (11-15 pounds) and can reach up to 14 kg (31 pounds). The physical characteristics of the red fox have a soft thin undercoat and long hairs that consists of orange, red, brown shades. The red fox has black ears and legs, with white on the tip of its tail and on its chest.
Mesocarnivore | Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
The red fox or reynard is indigenous to the Hudson Valley where Marist is located and is regarded as highly intelligent and cunning. It is the red fox from which Marist's school colors of red and white are derived.
Marist Red Foxes | Introduction
After spreading its domination over Eastern Europe, these Jewish-Tatars suddenly disappeared from the stage of history. What became of them? A part of these Khazars will have looked early on for a shelter in Transylvania, from where they crossed to the Danubian countries, especially in Muntenia, particularly in Muscel and Romanați districts where the traditional memories regarding them seem to be concentrated. [...] The settlements and their dwellings left important traces that took on colossal proportions in people's imagination. People of a supernatural size seemed to have lived [...] in an ancient time, which the old can hardly remember, and our peasants call those giant people Jews or Tatars." The scholar referred to various constants in folkloric accounts: peasants' testimonies which attributed large stone ruins to the Jews (whom they occasionally referred to as giants or supernaturally powerful people) and the "red" antagonists in fairy tales such as Ion Creangă's "Harap Alb" (the "Red Emperor", the "Red Man" and people with red-colored facial markings, all placed by Șăineanu in connection to the "Red Jews" myth).
Lazăr Șăineanu | Work in Romanian folklore
It was a great flock of ravens ("kaǧi"), spirit birds with rainbow plumage of iridescent colors. The instant that the first of these landed, he materialized into a naked, kneeling man. The Menominee chief said to his people, "Give this man clothing, for he is a chief." And the others landed in like fashion, and were given great hospitality. They were the Hocąk nation, and that is how they came to Red Banks. Red Banks (Wisconsin) is the traditional homeland of the Hocąk Nation. It is situated on Green Bay, which the Hocągara called "Te-rok", the "Within Lake". Lake Michigan as a whole was called "Te-šišik", "Bad Lake", which may well have led the Algonquian peoples round about Lake Winnebago to call them "the people of the Bad Waters", or "Winnibégo" in Menominee.
Ho-Chunk mythology | Migration myth
Wolves were feared by the Tsilhqot'in, who believed that contact with wolves would result in nervous illness or death. The Dena’ina believed wolves were once men, and viewed them as brothers.
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology | Arctic and Canada
According to David Daegling, the legends existed before there was a single name for the creature. They differed in their details both regionally and between families in the same community. Ecologist Robert Pyle argues that most cultures have accounts of human-like giants in their folk history, expressing a need for "some larger-than-life creature." Each language had its own name for the creature featured in the local version of such legends. Many names meant something along the lines of "wild man" or "hairy man", although other names described common actions that it was said to perform, such as eating clams or shaking trees.
Bigfoot | History
Oregon detections have occurred between 4900 and 6500 feet, though observations of Cascade red fox in Washington suggest lower elevations may be accessed during dispersal. John Perrine's study on Lassen Peak, using 144 baited motion-sensitive cameras from 1997 to 2002, found no foxes below 4520 feet. Historically, Grinnell's 1937 survey found occurrence from 4500 to 11,500 feet in California. The fox was initially described in 1906 as occurring above 6000 feet in the high Sierra.
Sierra Nevada red fox | Range
It encompasses the subspecies "V. v. macroura", "V. v. cascadensis", and "V. v. necator". The latter clade has been separated from all other red fox populations since the last glacial maximum, and may possess unique ecological or physiological adaptations. Although European foxes were introduced to portions of the United States in the 1900s recent genetic investigation indicates an absence of European fox haplotypes in any North American populations. Also, introduced eastern red foxes have colonized southern California, the San Joaquin Valley, and San Francisco Bay Area, but appear to have mixed with the Sacramento Valley red fox ("V. fulva patwin") only in a narrow hybrid zone.
Red fox | Colonisation of North America
The forefoot print measures in length and in width, while the hind foot print measures long and wide. They trot at a speed of , and have a maximum running speed of . They have a stride of when walking at a normal pace. North American red foxes are generally lightly built, with comparatively long bodies for their mass and have a high degree of sexual dimorphism. British red foxes are heavily built, but short, while continental European red foxes are closer to the general average among red fox populations. The largest red fox on record in Great Britain was a , long male, killed in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in early 2012.
Red fox | Dimensions
Red Coulee is an actual place located between Mcleod and Benton next to the Marias River in Montana. The Blackfoot Native Americans were told of a medicine stone by the people who inhabited the Montana area at the time. Years later, the Blackfoot tribe gathered a group of men and headed off to find the stone. When they found it, they were laughed at by their leader who said it was a child's story and rolled the stone down the hill. Later, on their way back to the tribe, they became engaged in battle, leaving all dead but one man to tell the story.
Blackfoot mythology | Legend of Red Coulee
Another creation myth begins with the earth flooded in water. Eagle tells Hawk to dive into the floodwaters to find some earth. Hawk dives but fails to find any earth the first day. He tries again the next morning, this time holding a feather plucked from the middle of Eagle's head. The feather grows longer and helps Hawk to reach some earth under the waters. The water eventually receded.
Ohlone mythology | Rumsen (Eagle and Hawk)
Folklorists and cultural anthropologists, such as P. Saintyves and Edward Burnett Tylor, saw "Little Red Riding Hood" in terms of solar myths and other naturally occurring cycles. Her red hood could represent the bright sun which is ultimately swallowed by the terrible night (the wolf), and the variations in which she is cut out of the wolf's belly represent the dawn. In this interpretation, there is a connection between the wolf of this tale and Sköll, the wolf in Norse mythology that will swallow the personified Sun at Ragnarök, or Fenrir. Alternatively, the tale could be about the season of spring or the month of May, escaping the winter.
Little Red Riding Hood | Natural cycles
Originating in Chinese myths dating back centuries before being introduced to Korean mythology, the Korean "kumiho" shares many similarities to the Chinese "huli jing" and the Japanese "kitsune". Classic of Mountains and Seas, an old Chinese text, claims a fox with nine tails lives in an area called Qingqiu (靑丘). As the kumiho and other versions of the nine-tailed fox myths and folklores originated from China, they all have a similar concept. All explain fox spirits as being the result of great longevity or the accumulation of energy, said to be foxes who have lived for a thousand years, and give them the power of shapeshifting, usually appearing in the guise of a woman.
Kumiho | Mythology
A particularly devout individual may even be able to see through a fox's disguise merely by perceiving them. can also be exposed while in human form by their fear and hatred of dogs, and some become so rattled by their presence that they revert to the form of a fox and flee. One folktale illustrating these imperfections in the 's human shape concerns Koan, a historical person later credited with legendary wisdom and magical powers of divination. According to the story, he was staying at the home of one of his devotees when he scalded his foot entering a bath because the water had been drawn too hot.
Kitsune | Shapeshifting
Japanese fox legends had their origins in the fox spirit of Chinese mythology, also found in stories throughout East Asia. Folktales of China tell of fox spirits called () that may have up to nine tails; these were adopted into Japanese culture as ('nine-tailed fox') which is covered in more detail below). Many of the earliest surviving stories are recorded in the , an 11th-century Japanese collection of Japanese, Chinese, and Indian literary narratives. Smyers (1999) notes that the idea of the fox as seductress and the connection of the fox myths to Buddhism were introduced into Japanese folklore through similar Chinese stories, but she maintains that some fox stories contain elements unique to Japan.
Kitsune | Origins
The mythology of the Ohlone (Costanoan) Native American people of Northern California include creation myths as well as other ancient narratives that contain elements of their spiritual and philosophical belief systems, and their conception of the world order. Their myths describe supernatural anthropomorphic beings with the names of regional birds and animals, notably the eagle, the Coyote who is humanity's ancestor and a trickster spirit, and a hummingbird. The Chochenyo (Chocheño) mythology of the San Francisco Bay Area has a strong culture hero figure named "Kaknu", coyote's grandson, who is an anthropomorphic and closely resembles a peregrine falcon.
Ohlone mythology | Introduction
In various folk legends and writings of the Edo Period, there are many things said about foxes concerning how their breath would glow, how they would strike with their tails to light a fire, and how they would have a glowing ball called the "kitsunebi-tama" (kitsunebi ball), among other tales. The Kanpō period essay the "Shokoku Rijidan" states that in the beginning years of Genroku, when fishermen capture kitsunebi with their nets, there would be a kitsunebi-tama caught in their nets, and it was an object that was useful as illumination because it does not shine during the daytime but would glow at night time.
Kitsunebi | True identity
It symbolizes the victory of intelligence over both malevolence and brute strength. In Northern Finland, the fox is said to conjure the aurora borealis while it runs through the snowy hills. When the fox’s fur touches the snow it creates magical sparks and sets the sky ablaze. Still today, the Finnish word for the aurora is “revontulet” which literally translates to “fox-fires”.
Foxes in popular culture, films and literature | Europe
In the book, it is stated: "For permission to retell two of the stories in this book, "The Little Bull-Calf" and "The Little Fox", the author wishes to acknowledge her indebtedness to The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, and to the late Dr. John Sampson through his Literary Executor, Miss D.E. Yates, Litt.D."
The Red King and the Witch: Gypsy Folk and Fairy Tales | Note
In physical conformation, cross foxes are identical to red foxes, though according to Teancum's "Mammals of Utah" (1922), they may be slightly larger with a bushier tail and with more wool under the feet. The cross fox derives its name from the vertical dark band running down the back, which is intersected with another horizontal band across the shoulders. The back and sides are yellowish rufous, which is more vivid on the flanks and the sides of the neck. Excepting the muzzle, the upper part of the head, the hind quarters and the outsides of the shoulders and thighs have dusky brown underfur and black outerfur.
Cross fox | Description
The American red fox ("Vulpes vulpes fulvus"), commonly known as the eastern American red fox, is a North American subspecies of the red fox ("Vulpes vulpes"). Historically, red foxes were classified as two species: "Vulpes vulpes" in Eurasia and "Vulpes fulva" in the Americas (Tesky, 1995). Since 1959 they have been considered to be a singular species of "Vulpes vulpes", with "Vulpes vulpes fulvus" one of the 10 North American subspecies (Hall, 1981; Kamler & Ballard, 2002). The American red fox differs from European forms by the greater breadth of its feet, its longer fur, noticeably shorter nose and ears, and its finer brush.
American red fox | Introduction
In medieval hunting, the red deer was the most prestigious quarry, especially the mature stag, which in England was called a hart.
Red deer | Red deer in folklore and art
The red heifer was also considered sacred to the Greek god Apollo. They are featured in many myths, including that of the creation of the lyre. In it Hermes steals Apollo's red heifers and then hides them. To escape Apollo's rage, Hermes creates the lyre. Geryon, the mythical three-bodied creature slain by Heracles, had red cattle, according to Pseudo-Apollodorus, which Heracles stole as his tenth labor.
Red heifer | Ancient Greek mythology
Native Americans certainly lived, hunted, and fished around Gulf Hagas. Gravesites belonging to the mysterious "Red Paint People" have been found in the area. Red ochre, an impure form of iron ore readily available in the area was used by the Red Paint People on their tools, skin and during burials. Grave sites were lined with the red ochre which preserved bodies of the deceased. Burial grounds belonging to Red Paint People have been discovered dating back 7,500 years. Simon Garew, the Legend of the Gulf, would travel to the gorge with his dog each year to hunt and fish.
Gulf Hagas | Myth and lore
Though the tale itself is probably of non-Jewish European origin, Rashi's form and elements are likely closer to the original in oral folklore than the somewhat later variation recorded featuring Reynard. Rashi's version already includes the fox, the wolf, the well and the Moon that are seen in later versions. Petrus Alphonsi, a Spanish Jewish convert to Christianity, popularized this tale in Europe in his collection "Disciplina Clericalis". The variation featuring Reynard the Fox appeared soon after Petrus Alphonsi in the French classic "Le Roman de Renart" (as "Renart et Ysengrin dans le puits" in Branch IV); the Moon/cheese element is absent (it is replaced by a promise of Paradise at the bottom of the well), but such a version is alluded to in another part of the collection.
The Moon is made of green cheese | "The Wolf and the Fox" story type
Fox spirits feature prominently in mythology throughout the mythology of East Asia. In China, these are generally known as Huli jing. There are various types, such as the nine-tailed fox.
Chinese mythology | Fox spirits
A lame fox came up to the older brothers to beg bread, and they drove it off with sticks; it went to the younger, and he fed it. It told him how to find the vine, and to dig it up with a wooden shovel rather than an iron one. He thought the wooden shovel would not be strong enough, but the noise the iron shovel made woke the guards. His captors told him he could have the vine if he brought them a golden apple. He went back to meet the fox, who told him where it was, and to use the wooden rather than the golden pole to get it, but he used the golden pole, which woke the guards.
Laughing Eye and Weeping Eye | Synopsis
Red hair was thought to be a mark of a beastly sexual desire and moral degeneration. A savage red-haired man is portrayed in the fable by Grimm brothers ("Der Eisenhans") as the spirit of the forest of iron. Theophilus Presbyter describes how the blood of a red-haired young man is necessary to create gold from copper, in a mixture with the ashes of a basilisk. Montague Summers, in his translation of the Malleus Maleficarum, notes that red hair and green eyes were thought to be the sign of a witch, a werewolf or a vampire during the Middle Ages;
Red hair | Medieval beliefs
"Shall we make up?" he cries. The red-winged tinamou responds with "What me, never again". This story is meant to show that they are often heard but seldom seen.
Tinamou | Mythology
Such gray fox tree dens may be located 30 ft above the ground. Prior to European colonization of North America, the red fox was found primarily in boreal forest and the gray fox in deciduous forest.
Gray fox | Behavior
Kuma Lisa is a female fox from Bulgarian folklore and Russian folklore who usually plays the role of the trickster. Kuma Lisa is encountered with another character known as Kumcho Vulcho - a wolf which is opposite to her and very often suffers from her tricks. In Scotland, the trickster figure of the fox (or "tod" in traditional Scots) was represented as "Lowrence", as in the "Morall Fabillis" of Robert Henryson. In Finnish mythology, the fox is depicted usually a cunning trickster, but seldom evil. The fox, while weaker, in the end outsmarts both the evil and voracious wolf and the strong but not-so-cunning bear.
Foxes in popular culture, films and literature | Europe
Not surprisingly, given his status as Chief of the Herok'a, Red Horn has a special connection to deer. The Red Horn Cycle tells us of the time when Red Horn, the youngest brother, was following his other brothers to a race to which he alone was not invited. The people were saying, ""Kunu" (eldest born) has come and the one at whom "Kunu" used to throw deer lungs, his youngest brother, he has also come along." So "Kunu" looked behind him and, sure enough, there was his little brother following, wearing an untanned deerskin blanket turned inside out. The fur was on the outside.
Red Horn | Struck with Deer Lungs and the pipe ceremony
Although European red foxes were introduced to portions of the United States in the 1900s, recent genetic investigation indicates an absence of European red fox haplotypes in any North American populations. Also, introduced eastern American red foxes have colonized southern California, the San Joaquin Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area, but appear to have mixed with the Sacramento Valley red fox ("V. v. patwin") only in a narrow hybrid zone. In addition, no evidence is seen of interbreeding of eastern American red foxes in California with the montane Sierra Nevada red fox "V. v. necator" or other populations in the Intermountain West (between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges to the west.
American red fox | Origin
In North Baffin dialects "ijiraq" means Shape Shifter. While Tariaksuq appear like a half-man-half-caribou monster, an Ijiraq can appear in any form it chooses, making it particularly deceptive. Their eyes will always stay red, no matter what they shapeshift into. Their real form is just like a human, but their eyes and mouth are sideways. "(The book of Dutch writer Floortje Zwigtman says only the shaman knows the real form of the Ijiraq)." When you are hunting somewhere that Ijirait (plural) inhabit, you will see them in the corner of your eye for a fleeting moment (like tariaksuq, shadow people) "(following another reference, you see a strange caribou in the corner of your eye instead of a normal shadow").
Ijiraq (mythology) | Description