When breeding season rolls around, foxes tend to go a scrap mouthy – and what comes out sounds eerily human being. This is what the fox says: a high-pitched " YAAGGAGHH " rivalled only past the screams of the almighty marmot.

Chances are you've seen this prune pop up on social media this week, but it was really filmed back in 2010 past Ki Steiner. And d espite what many commenters accept suggested, this is not endeavor by the fob to call its canine all-time friend for some more than playtime.

The screech in the video is known every bit a "vixen's cry", and you'll hear it about oftentimes effectually springtime, when foxes are out luring mates. Information technology's also used afterwards in the flavor when unwanted visitors need to be chased abroad from young kits. And it'southward not just females doing the screaming, though scientists are notwithstanding trying to work out why male foxes as well apply the call from time to time.

"This fox lives near our house and has interacted with our canis familiaris quite a bit," Steiner explained. "But this was definitely the craziest encounter we have seen betwixt them. We now regularly hear that crazy bird-similar scream the fox makes."

The most likely explanation is that Steiner's domestic dog simply got besides close to the vixen'southward den, but it's also possible that the fox was on its own mate-finding mission when the two animals crossed paths.

The phone call is certainly claret-curdling enough that it regularly causes warning. And it'southward non hard to understand why:

"The first time I heard a fox scream, I thought information technology was being attacked and called the police," says United kingdom local Martha Louise Ryder, who has had foxes denning nether her property for nearly ii decades. "I felt similar a complete numpty."

Foreign as it may be, a bark or cry is far from the most peculiar sound y'all'll hear from a trick. The animals are highly territorial and accept a whole repertoire of noises for aggressive encounters. Ane of the almost common is "gekkering", a clickety-ballyhoo phone call and response that sounds more bird than mammal:

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Top header image: John Ryan, Flickr