The Secret Lives of Urban Foxes Reading Answers

Sep 26, 2025

The Secret Lives of Urban Foxes Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. The Secret Lives of Urban Foxes Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions in total such Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? Write True, False, or Not given. And use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

The IELTS Reading section is an essential part of the test that evaluates a candidate's comprehension and analysis of various passage types. You will work through a number of IELTS reading practice problems in this section that resemble actual test situations. These questions are designed to help you improve your ability to recognise essential concepts, extract particular facts, and make inferences. Practising these IELTS reading problems can help you get comfortable with the structure and increase your confidence for the exam, regardless of whether you are studying for the Academic or General Training module.

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Section 1

THE SECRET LIVES OF URBAN FOXES

In recent years, urban landscapes have seen an unexpected and sometimes controversial resident: the red fox (Vulpes). Once considered strictly a rural animal, foxes have rapidly adapted to life in cities around the world, from London to Melbourne and even Tokyo. Their presence in metropolitan areas raises questions about adaptation, survival, and human-wildlife interaction in increasingly urbanized ecosystems.

Urban foxes exhibit remarkable behavioural flexibility. Their diet has shifted from traditional prey like rabbits and rodents to scavenged human food, which includes everything from pizza crusts to pet food left outside. Studies in the UK have found that urban foxes have smaller territories than their rural counterparts, primarily due to the abundant and easy-to-access food supply in city environments. In rural areas, a fox might need to cover ten square kilometres to meet its dietary needs; in cities, a single square kilometre can suffice.

The lifestyle of city foxes is not only shaped by food availability but also by reduced threats. In rural zones, foxes face danger from hunters, cars on country roads, and natural predators. However, urban environments tend to provide relative safety. Traffic is still a major threat, but hunting is minimal, and natural predators are rare or non-existent. Interestingly, urban foxes have become bolder and more tolerant of human activity, often being seen in back gardens, parks, and even schoolyards during daylight hours.

This increased visibility has led to polarised public opinions. Some city dwellers enjoy spotting foxes and consider them a charming addition to urban wildlife. Others view them as pests, especially when they dig up gardens, overturn trash bins, or pose a perceived threat to pets. Media portrayals often add fuel to the fire, with headlines either romanticising or demonising the creatures.

Researchers have begun to examine whether these urban foxes are genetically distinct from their rural counterparts. A study conducted by the University of Bristol used genetic sampling to compare urban and rural populations and found slight genetic divergences. These differences may be the result of both geographic isolation and selective pressures in urban environments, such as tolerance to noise and reduced flight response to humans. Despite this adaptation, foxes still face several challenges in cities. Ingesting spoiled or harmful food, getting trapped in fencing or construction zones, and contracting diseases such as mange can be fatal. Mange, caused by parasitic mites, has significantly reduced fox populations in some urban areas. Furthermore, while foxes are capable of surviving in the city, their health is often poorer than that of rural foxes due to inconsistent nutrition and exposure to pollutants.

Urban foxes may also be affecting other city-dwelling species. Some studies suggest that their presence can reduce populations of ground-nesting birds or small mammals. However, they may also help control populations of rats and other vermin. The ecological impact of foxes in cities is still being researched, and experts caution against making sweeping generalisations.

As urbanisation continues, the presence of animals like the red fox in our cities forces us to reconsider the boundaries between nature and civilisation. Whether welcomed or reviled, foxes are here to stay, quietly adapting to a world of concrete, traffic, and streetlights.

Questions 14-20

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information

14. Foxes can only survive in cities with access to large green spaces.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "In rural areas, a fox might need to cover ten square kilometres to meet its dietary needs; in cities, a single square kilometre can suffice."

Keywords: urban, rural, territories, single square kilometre

Keyword Location: Para 2, Lines 5-6

Explanation: The passage states that urban foxes have smaller territories than their rural counterparts, and that a single square kilometre can be sufficient for a fox in a city. There is no information about them needing "large green spaces".

15. Urban foxes usually need smaller territories than rural foxes.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "Studies in the UK have found that urban foxes have smaller territories than their rural counterparts, primarily due to the abundant and easy-to-access food supply in city environments."

Keywords: urban foxes, smaller territories, rural counterparts

Keyword Location: Para 2, Lines 3-4

Explanation: The passage directly states that urban foxes have smaller territories than their rural counterparts.

16. In the countryside, foxes face more natural predators than in cities.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "In rural zones, foxes face danger from hunters, cars on country roads, and natural predators. However, urban environments tend to provide relative safety... natural predators are rare or non-existent."

Keywords: rural zones, natural predators, urban environments, rare or non-existent

Keyword Location: Para 3, Lines 2-3

Explanation: According to the text, foxes in rural areas are subject to natural predators, whereas in urban areas, these predators are either nonexistent or very seldom. According to this, foxes in rural areas are more likely to encounter natural predators.

17. Most city residents believe that urban foxes are dangerous to humans.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: Although the text states that some people think foxes pose a harm to pets, it makes no mention of the majority of city dwellers' belief that urban foxes pose a threat to people. There is no data to back up the assertion that the opinion is a majority; instead, it is described as polarized, demonstrating a range of opinions.

18. Urban foxes are genetically identical to rural foxes.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "A study conducted by the University of Bristol used genetic sampling to compare urban and rural populations and found slight genetic divergences."

Keywords: genetic sampling, slight genetic divergences

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 2-3

Explanation: According to the text, urban and rural foxes are not genetically identical because of minor genetic differences.

19. Mange is a common disease among foxes in urban areas,

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "Mange, caused by parasitic mites, has significantly reduced fox populations in some urban areas."

Keywords: Mange, significantly reduced, fox populations

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 7-8

Explanation: According to the text, urban foxes can die from mange, a condition that has drastically decreased fox populations in some places. This suggests that it is a prevalent serious illness for them.

20. Urban foxes have contributed to an increase in the rat population.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "However, they may also help control populations of rats and other vermin."

Keywords: control populations, rats, other vermin

Keyword Location: Para 6, Line 3

Explanation: According to the passage, rather than causing the rat population to grow, urban foxes may aid in the management of rat and other vermin populations.

Questions 21-26

Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

21. Foxes in cities often eat_________ discarded by people.

Answer: HUMAN FOOD

Supporting statement: "Their diet has shifted from traditional prey like rabbits and rodents to scavenged human food, which includes everything from pizza crusts to pet food left outside."

Keywords: diet, scavenged human food

Keyword Location: Para 2, Lines 1-2

Explanation: The paragraph makes it clear that scavenged human food, including pizza crusts, is a part of the diet of urban foxes.

22. Because of plentiful food, foxes in urban areas occupy a ___________territory.

Answer: SMALLER

Keywords: smaller territories, rural counterparts

Keyword Location: Para 2, Lines 3-4

Explanation: According to the passage, urban foxes have a smaller territory due to the abundance of food.

23. City foxes are often seen during the day because they are less afraid of___________

Answer: HUMANS

Supporting statement: "Interestingly, urban foxes have become bolder and more tolerant of human activity, often being seen in back gardens, parks, and even schoolyards during daylight hours."

Keywords: bolder, tolerant of human activity

Keyword Location: Para 3, Lines 5-6

Explanation: According to the text, urban foxes are more common during the day because they have grown more tolerant of human activity.

24. One danger foxes face in urban areas is becoming trapped in__________

Answer: CONSTRUCTION ZONES

Supporting statement: "Ingesting spoiled or harmful food, getting trapped in fencing or construction zones, and contracting diseases such as mange can be fatal."

Keywords: trapped in, construction zones

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 6-7

Explanation: One of the risks urban foxes encounter, according to the text, is becoming stuck in construction zones.

25. Urban foxes are more vulnerable to__________in their diet than rural foxes.

Answer: INCONSISTENT NUTRITION

Supporting statement: "Furthermore, while foxes are capable of surviving in the city, their health is often poorer than that of rural foxes due to inconsistent nutrition and exposure to pollutants."

Keywords: poorer health, inconsistent nutrition

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 9-10

Explanation: According to the text, urban foxes' inconsistent nutrition results in worse health than that of rural foxes.

26. The long-term____________ of foxes in cities is still being explored by scientists

Answer: ECOLOGICAL IMPACT

Supporting statement: "The ecological impact of foxes in cities is still being researched, and experts caution against making sweeping generalisations."

Keywords: ecological impact, still being researched

Keyword Location: Para 6, Lines 3-4

Explanation: According to the text, research on the ecological effects of foxes in urban areas is ongoing.

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