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Foxes have been scavenging from humans for 42,000 years
The diets of ancient foxes were influenced by humans, new research suggests.
By Sara Rigby, PA Science
23rd July, 2020 at 09:39
The sight of foxes rummaging through the rubbish for scraps of food is not an unfamiliar one, and now scientists say it may have been around for 42,000 years.
The diets of ancient foxes were influenced by humans, and these small carnivores might be tracers of human activity over time, according to a new study.
In the wild, foxes regularly feed on scraps left behind by larger predators such as bears and wolves. But the closer the animals live to human civilisation, the more of their diet is made up of foods that humans leave behind.
In this new study, published in the PLOS ONE journal, Chris Baumann of the University of Tubingen, Germany, and colleagues suggest that if this relationship goes back to ancient times, then foxes might be useful indicators of human impact in the past.
More:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/foxes-have-been-scavenging-from-humans-for-42000-years/
