You and Betty and the Nancy's and Bill's and Joes and Jane's will find in the study of science

a richer, more rewarding life.

I'm Indravis Gontas. Welcome to another episode of Inquiring Minds.

This is a podcast that explores the space where science and society collide.

We want to find out what's true, what's left to discover,

and why it matters. In past episodes of this show, we've taken a deep dive into certain

animals, like the beaver or the coyote. Now let's turn to the fox.

This enigmatic animal has been part of human history for as long as fables have been around.

And despite efforts to domesticate them, they haven't become part of our households. Why is that?

Adele Brand is a mammal ecologist and also has a personal

relationship with foxes as she grew up in the English countryside where the fox is prevalent.

So without further ado, let's jump in and get a deeper understanding of the hidden world of the fox.

Adele Brand, welcome to inquiring minds.

Thank you very much.

The fox has been a part of human civilization and culture since the time of ASOP at

least, and I don't know, maybe even earlier.

And even, but it's not like we have a real domestic relationship with the fox, the way we do

with other animals that sort of make sense for us to sort of include in our fairy tales and fables.

So why is the fox so interesting to us for thousands of years?

Yeah, it's really interesting to get the sort of historical context to that.

Foxes have been living very close to people for a very long time.

If you look at some of the archaeological data from places like Spain and Israel,

...