Which of these happens will depend heavily on the chemical structure of the scents being deposited, with those that aren't prone to vaporising (“evaporating”) less likely to reach a twitching nose on the wind. Knowledge of the chemistry of fox society could help develop new, better methods of population control.

This indicates that the mostly low levels found in fox urine were an underestimate of the total amount. I bottled some Fox-scented sawdust in a screw-top honey jar in 1962, and at the time of writing (February, 1967) the smell retains much of its original quality. Four fox samples were also analyzed after extraction of urine with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coated stir-bars (Twister ®, Gerstel), following the method described by Zhang et al. A scent that dissipates within a few minutes has limited biological use and, consequently, mammals have evolved mechanisms to help stabilise these scent marks, or, more accurately, to help reduce their volatility.Electron ionisation (EI) mass spectra were recorded in full scan mode using operating conditions described previously [ 39].

The finding that acetophenone was present in all urine samples, usually as the major constituent, indicated that its concentration could be determined and then used to estimate the concentration of other compounds in ‘acetophenone equivalents’. Cysteine and other sulfur-containing amino acids (SAAs) are precursors of glutathione and other defence chemicals [ 81, 82]. These and other apocarotenoids were also found in the fox tail gland secretions [ 36], but are not known in other mammals.The mass spectrometer used positive electrospray ionization with multiple reaction monitoring, and the transitions for quantitation were m/z 114. The specific composition of sebum varies considerably species to species, but in all mammals it's largely lipid (fat)-based and its primary function is to condition our skin and hair, lubricating it and making it waterproof.

The individual variation in these proportions is striking, as is the absence of detectable sulfur compounds in one individual.

It is not known where the four phenylethane sulfur compounds are produced in the fox, whether the liver or kidney or some unknown gland. When Humans are infected, they are often treated with antibiotics although the disease can also clear up without the use of corrective measures.