| “ | (snarl) | „ |
| ~ Common sound made by foxes. |
Foxes are benevolent deuteragonists/tritagonists in the sandbox construction video game Minecraft.
They are one of the optional, tamable utility mobs in the game. Once tamed, they will act as companions to the players. They are similar to another potential ally mob, wolves, but still have some differences in their nature and AI.
They were added in version 1.14 in 2019. Foxes come in two variants: red foxes and white snow foxes.
Spawning[]
Foxes spawn in the following biomes: taigas, old growth taigas, snowy taigas and groves. They spawn in groups of two to four, and never seem to spawn one by one. There is a 5% chance a fox will spawn as a baby. If a fox has spawned in snowy biomes, it will be white instead of red. They can also spawn with a random item in their mouth: an emerald, rabbit's foot, rabbit hide, egg, wheat, leather or feather. Each of these items have their own chance to appear in a fox's mouth.
Personality[]
When tamed, foxes are friendly, loyal, trusting, kind, helpful, protective and caring animals. When tamed, they follow players for the entire duration of their lives without ever lowering their loyalty. Foxes, whether they're tamed or not, show a very cautious side, as they run from polar bears, wolves and players. This is not unreasonable, given how dangerous those three entities can be.
They also show a mildly destructive and predatory side, as they relentlessly hunt chickens (including ones belonging to villages), fish and baby turtles. However, if tamed, the foxes will actually fight wolves and polar bears if they attack the player first, showing they will put aside their original fears once the player gains their trust.
Unlike wolves, foxes do not engage with mobs the player engages, and will only attack mobs that attack the player first. This also shows that foxes are more vengeful and protective in a cautious way, whereas wolves are protective in a more aggressive way.
Behavior[]
A attempting to pounce on a chicken, and missing...
When spawned, foxes wander around aimlessly like almost any other mob in the game. They naturally hunt chickens, cod fish, tropical fish, salmon, rabbits and baby turtles. Snow foxes prefer to hunt only cod, salmon and tropical fish. If the baby turtles are in water, foxes won't attack them. Foxes are quick movers, and when untamed, will flee from players, polar bears and wolves. If the player approaches foxes while sneaking, they won't flee.
Whereas sweet berry bushes in Minecraft are thorny, harmful and able to slow an entity's movement, foxes are completely immune to this, as they are agile enough to move through them completely unharmed and unimpeded. When a fox is pursuing a target, it will pause for a moment, lowers it body in preparation for a jump, then leap into the air and nose dive onto its target, dealing damage.
Foxes won't retaliate against wolves, despite the fact that neutral wolves are naturally hostile to foxes. Foxes can also swim in an effort to catch the fish they're hunting. Unfortunately, baby versions of foxes cannot swim, and will likely drown when following a parent fox into a body of water. Foxes that manage to pounce-jump themselves into a layer of snow will get themselves stuck, but will be able to dig themselves out shortly after.
Foxes will always flee from wolves and polar bears, regardless of being neutral or tamed. Foxes have the unique behavior to hold items in their mouths, which can be utilized to get helpful items for the player. If a fox decides to eat an item in their mouth that has certain effects when used or consumed, the fox will receive those effects once eating the item. For example, if a fox eats an enchanted golden apple, it will receive the health absorption and regeneration effect. If it eats an ender pearl, it will randomly teleport somewhere.
Taming a fox is a unique feature compared to taming other utility mobs - where other utility mobs are tamed by giving them something (such as wolves and cat) or creating them (such as Iron Golems and Snow Golems), foxes are not directly tamed. Instead, two foxes must be given sweet berries or glow berries to breed and birth a baby fox. The baby fox that's spawned will be the fox that's tamed. When the fox becomes an adult, it will attack most hostile mobs that attack the player. Tamed foxes can be commanded to sit and stand at the player's command.
At night, foxes may sometimes go into villages and attack any chickens belonging to any villagers. Foxes doing this normally go to the biome that matches the type of biome they spawn in. Like holding items in the mouth, foxes have another unique feature of having a unique animation while sleeping. Foxes, being nocturnal, normally sleep during the day, unless there's a thunderstorm. Any approaching non-sneaking player or mob will wake the sleeping fox. A light level of 15 or higher in the space above the fox also wakes the fox.
Foxes sometimes make loud screeching sounds at night. Because foxes love berries, they go straight for any fully grown (or one stage before)
Heroic acts[]
Tamed foxes will show non-stop love and loyalty for the entire duration of the mob's existence.
- Protecting and following orders of their owning players.
- Never losing loyalty to the player who tamed them.
- Collecting items for players.
- Put themselves in harm's way just to protect the player.
- Acts as a distraction for players, as they attack mobs that weren't necessarily attacked by the player first.
- Even when untamed, foxes never retaliate toward players or wolves that attacked them.
- Helping the player and the villagers defeat an army of illagers during a village raid. (optional)
- Waiting the player to arrive at their worlds regardless of how long until the player returns, expressing their loyalty and patience to the player.
- Accompanies the player and stays by their side, even in seemingly unreachable and dangerous situations.
Trivia[]
- Breeding a red fox and a snow fox will have the baby be a 50% chance of being either breed.
- Tamed foxes don't attack zombie villagers, despite them normally being hostile to undead mobs.
- Foxes can somehow pick up and drop items while sleeping.
- Foxes are the first mob to have a unique sleeping animation, and are one of two mobs that are able to sleep at all, the other mob being the villager. Villagers can sleep on beds, but they don't have a unique animation; instead, their bodies simply become horizontal.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Merchandise[]
External Links[]
- Fox at the Minecraft Wiki
