Foxes scream primarily to communicate for several reasons: to attract mates during their mating season, to mark and defend their territory from rival foxes, and sometimes as alarm calls when they feel threatened or scared. Female foxes often scream during mating itself, and male foxes use screaming to warn off competitors. The scream is a common nocturnal sound since foxes are mostly active at night. This scream can sound startlingly like a human scream but is a normal behavior for foxes.