These findings have important implication for the evolution of dispersal and group living in social mammals, and provide a unique opportunity to advance our understanding of the key biological process of dispersal.
In urban fox families, mothers determine which cubs get to stay and which must leave while fathers have little say in the matter, new research by biologists at the University of Bristol has found. In a world of increasing urban sprawl, red foxes have successfully established themselves in our very backyard. Surprisingly sociable, these foxes live in defined family groups with a dominant male-female pair and a varying number of subordinate adults. In spring each family produces a litter of cubs. Some of these cubs remain in the family group for the rest of their lives while others leave to search for another family to join. Scientists have long wondered what, or who, drives these individuals to leave the safety of their family. The urban foxes in Bristol have been studied continuously since 1977 giving a rare window into their normally secretive lives.
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