why so many Foxes?

[Ash]

Foxes are beautiful x.X

[Sticky_Fingers]

Why doesn't anyone realize that Bears are more widespread then Foxes?



Or are we just part of the scenery now?

[Leeward]

Go onto Google Images and search for "furry" then count the foxes; then count the bears; then count everything else.

[Faanvolla]

Safe search on or off?

[Leeward]

I always have it on, but either way I'm guessing the results will be similar in terms of demographics.

[Sticky_Fingers]

Well my comment was meant to be taken as more of a joke.

BUT.

If I was to clarify what I had meant by my comment, it would be that bears are pretty much everywhere but they get relegated to background duty while foxes are more the poster-child of the fandom but probably don't have the massive number we think they have.

Also, I guess there are three terms we can deal with for numbers: media spread, total amount, and popularity.

Media Spread: I was posing the thought that bears are much more widely spread in media (not only furry media) and have a much more universal appeal. Try to find a child that doesn't have a teddy bear or any children media that doesn't feature a bear. It's everywhere and its basically part of the fabric of our culture. So its rather taken for a given in my mind that bears are "everywhere".

Total amount: When specifically in the furry fandom, the numbers are probably higher for foxes then bears. I don't know if anyone can actually find statistics on this. As presented in the Main topic of this thread, it most likely has to do with their cute appeal and personality for those that actually want one as their fursona rather then the more brutish appearance of bears. I rate that the rest are much like the default character that people have before they decide what they want. This is not a personal jab at the foxes on FA, its just that the fandom chose that as the starting point for "furry". If anything, the amount of dragons on FA is much higher then foxes anyway.

Popularity: This was touched on above. Foxes are the unofficial poster-child of the fandom because this is how stereotyping works. I suggest that causes a skewed image of the actual spread of what persons/furries online like.

Basically, my comment was meant as more of a lament that anthropomorphic bears are something integral to culture, more so then foxes but in any popular feature in the fandom they seem to be non-existant.

[Leeward]

That makes a lot more sense.

[Faanvolla]

If I'm understanding this adjective species page correctly, then wolf is the most popular followed by red fox(at least for everyone taking part in their surveys) http://vis.adjectivespecies.com/species-popularity/

Also, as a note, I've been seeing a lot of fox themed things in some stores, specially Typo (the one in Bloemfontein at least)
http://cottonon.com/AU/search?q=Fox
http://cottonon.com/AU/search?q=Bear

(I'm on mobile so I can't link as well as I'd like)

[Valerion]

This is also borne out here: http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Furry_Survey#Species

[Linea]

I think foxes are popular because they are canines. Man and dog have a history of many hundreds and thousands of years, and research shows that humans and canines have actually adapted to be companion creatures over thousands of years, and that dogs and humans are more adept at Reading each others expressions as compared to any other animal. Couple with the fact that quadruped mammals are easy to anthropomorphise, and the prevalence of foxes in pop culture (Disney, Nintendo etc.) I'm not surprised that foxes are the most represented animal in the Fandom.

[Helios_phi]

Hmmm... this is all good and well to make the fox a poster child for the fandom, but what does the fox say?

[Valerion]

Hmmm... this is all good and well to make the fox a poster child for the fandom, but what does the fox say?

I think it's more because of the foxes and their mind control and transformation powers.

[Sticky_Fingers]

Heh, they see me rolling. They hating...

[Kangee Gold]

Damn pesky foxes. We need more birds!

[YoteFox]

Damn pesky foxes. We need more birds!

Got something against foxes? Hmm bub?

Avians scare me tbh, don't know why

[Adagio]

Damn pesky foxes. We need more birds!

Got something against foxes? Hmm bub?

Avians scare me tbh, don't know why

Yeah... I agree... No offence...

[Contrast]

It's because people are more likely to identify and empathise with characters with human physical characteristics and facial expressions. Because of their beaks, birds tend to fall into an "uncanny valley" type of niche.

That's my theory, anyway.

[Kangee Gold]

That's because people have never spent enough time with real birds. Birds have a lot personality and intellect that they rather express via actions and vocalisations instead of facial expressions. And the few facial expressions birds do make can be very subtle and hard to translate.

Also this:

[Leeward]

The same can be said for any animal. It's just that anthropomorphism makes it easier for us to understand in a way we can relate to because our brains are hard-wired to interpret human body language best. For example, we think that dolphins are always happy, that a panting dog is contented, etc. It takes some getting used to learning to understand animal body language, especially since they all communicate slightly differently.

[Kangee Gold]

Damn idiot foxes.

[Contrast]

That's not idiotic. It's how they hunt for critters under the snow.

[Valerion]

Damn idiot foxes.

That's a fox with dinner today, instead of being hungry.

[Rakuen Growlithe]

I would say what he really thought was there but I can't in this part of the forum.