赤狐

© Yossi Eshbol/Minden Picture

在三伏天遇到一位专家

除我们的宠物狗之外，没有其它犬科物种比狐狸更能在人类中生存。尽管人类猎杀它们是为了娱乐和获得皮毛，并普遍认为它们是害虫和敌人。但不管我们对狐狸的看法如何，它们似乎都赢得了我们的尊重。有这么多聪明和狡猾的动物，我们却选择了“比狐狸还狡猾（outfoxed）”的说法，而不是“比乌鸦还狡猾（outcrowed）”，“比熊还狡猾（outbeared）”或者“比浣熊还狡猾（outraccooned）”。

狡猾的狐狸的图片是合适三伏天的海报，三伏天指从今天开始，到8月11日结束的40天。夏天这些漫长、炎热、慵懒的日子与“狗星”天狼星有关，天狼星是夜空中最亮的星，也是大犬座的主要恒星。三伏天开始于天狼星升起之时——也就是说，至少在北半球，这颗恒星在东方地平线上首次可见之时。在南半球，天狼星的出现标志着波利尼西亚人冬天的开始，他们用它作为航海的导航星。狐狸通常会在夏天养育它们的幼崽，这些幼崽将在秋天独立外出。

正如它们的名声一样，狐狸是适应性最强和最机敏的动物之一。它们生活在世界各地，森林、草原、沙漠、山脉，甚至是北极。它们主要吃小型啮齿动物，但作为机会主义杂食动物，他们也吃也爬行动物、鸟类、昆虫、水果和根茎。在食物方面，他们也是专业的拾荒者和小偷。或许他们善于在人类中生存，正是因为它们和我们很像吧。

Red fox

© Yossi Eshbol/Minden Picture

Meet an expert on the dog days of summer. Dog days of summer

Other than our pet dogs, no other canine species has succeeded more at living among humans than the fox. This is despite the fact that people have hunted foxes for sport and for their highly coveted fur, and generally regarded them as pests and nemeses. No matter how we feel about them, foxes seem to have earned our respect. Of all the animals that are arguably clever and crafty, the word we use is 'outfoxed,' not 'outcrowed,' or 'outbeared,' or 'outraccooned.'

The cunning fox is an appropriate poster pup for the 'dog days of summer,' which start today and end in 40 days on August 11. These long, hot, languid days of summer are associated with the 'dog star,' Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky and the predominant star of the constellation Canis Major (Greater Dog). The dog days begin when Sirius rises—that is, when the star first becomes visible above the eastern horizon—at least in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, the appearance of Sirius marked the start of winter for Polynesians, who used it as a lodestar to navigate the ocean. For those of us up north, Sirius and the dog days simply mean keeping cool while enjoying the warmth and bounty of the longest days of the year. Foxes typically spend their summers parenting their offspring, called kits, and readying them for the fall when they will stake out on their own.

True to their reputation, foxes are among the most adaptable and resourceful of animals. They live all over the world, in forests, grasslands, deserts, mountains, and even the Arctic. They eat primarily small rodents, but are opportunistic omnivores known to feed on reptiles, birds, insects, fruit, and roots. They are also expert scavengers and thieves when it comes to food. Perhaps the reason foxes are adept at living among people is because they're a lot like us.