Gray Fox

Description:

Minnesota is home to four species of wild canids – red fox, gray fox, coyote and gray wolf. Of these four species, the gray fox is perhaps the least observed and least understood. Commonly mistaken as red fox, gray foxes are unique in their own right. As a former biologist/naturalist at an urban Nature Center, I feel safe stating that most people are actually unaware of the existance of a Grey Fox species at all. The smallest of our wild canids, adult gray foxes stand about 15 inches high at the shoulder. From nose to tail, a gray fox doesn’t quite reach 4 feet in total length and rarely attains a dozen pounds in weight. The largest gray fox ever recorded weighed only 19 pounds. Gray foxes differ from red foxes in many ways, including pelage coloration. Both, for example, have red in their coats. However, it is only the red fox that is mostly red in color, whereas the gray fox can best be described as having a “salt and pepper” coat, as you can see clearly in picture #1. The salt-and-pepper coloration extends from the top of its head, back, sides and tail. Accented with a black streak down the center of the top of its tail and ending as a black tip, along with handsome red ears and ruffs and white undersides. The short-muzzled and short-legged fox can easily be taken for a cat when seen at night, it's normal active time of day, not just from it's shape and size, but by its surprising ability to climb trees! No other canid in Minnesota can climb trees. Gray foxes are known to literally CLIMB trees, not just scramble up trees, sometimes scaling relatively branch-free, smooth barked trees such as aspen and birch in order to escape predators or pursue prey. (Take a look at the long toes on the pup in picture #1). I have actually come face to face with one of the parents of these pups sitting on a branch of a tree just above my head as I walked by on the edge of a parking lot. At night. I was startled, to say the least. The gray fox has been observed sleeping on the branches of trees, hiding or sleeping in old raptor nests, and even raising their families inside of hollow trees a dozen or more feet above the ground. The diet of gray foxes is wide and varied. There were bones of small mammals and birds near this shed, and an uneaten mole and some feathers. I did see the vixon bring a bird to the pups on one occassion. Other prey of gray foxes includes bird eggs, tree squirrels, frogs, snakes, insects and insect larvae such as beetle grubs. They also eat a host of wild fruits, berries, nuts and sometimes domestic crops like sunflower seeds. Pups, which are born during the spring between the months of March and early May, are at the age by August to begin tagging along on hunting forays with their parents. During these important times, pups learn where and how to capture prey and become familiar with their parents’ home range. Eventually, however, the pups mature, find mates, and establish their own breeding territories.

Habitat:

Well, clearly, these are highly adaptable animals. They are not a northern Minnespta species, but are being seen more in the north, perhaps as the climate warms. This mom raised her pups in a car shed on the edge of downtown St. Paul, Mn. You can see the tail pipes of the car in the shed. There are many large houses with mature trees, lawns, shrubs, and gardens nearby. There are very busy streets, lots of restaurants and shops as well. She most likely had wandered up from the Mississippi, which winds thru downtown, less than a mile away.

Notes:

Its Latin scientific name, Urocyon cinereoargenteus. Its genus name, Urocyon, is a combination of two Greek words that refer to its bristly haired, dog-like tail. Its species name translates roughly as “ashy-silvered,” which, of course, is a good description of the gray fox’s coat.