What Sound Does A Fox Really Make?

A music video from a Norwegian duo called Ylvis is primed to, as the kids marketers say, "go viral," because it is catchy and weird and foreign and about animals. The lyrics are simple: Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåker, the folks behind Ylvis, describe the vocalizations of various common animals, from cats to dogs to ducks to cows, and then in the pre-chorus, wonder what sound the fox makes. The chorus then suggests a few possibilities, like "Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding" and "Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow." Good suggestions, Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåker! But I think we can come up with something slightly more scientifically accurate, and also watch lots of videos of foxes while we do it.

So! In Norway, where Ylvis is from, there are two species of fox: the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Here in the States, we have a few others, like the gray fox and the kit fox. All species of fox have a pretty wide variety of vocalizations, just as dogs and cats do. It's simple to reduce, say, a dog's vocalizations to "bark," but as any owner knows, dogs can yelp, whine, howl, growl, and make all kinds of other sounds. Foxes aren't quite as varied in their vocalizations as dogs, but they're still capable of making lots of different sounds.
ReadMore at https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/what-sound-does-fox-make

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