The gray fox is a fox of woods and brushy country found across most of the US, except the mountains of the Northwest, and south through Mexico and Central America into northern South America. Its strong, hooked claws let it climb tree trunks. It's sometimes called the tree fox.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Salt-and-pepper gray back, rusty red on the neck, sides, and legs, and white throat and belly. A black stripe runs down the top of the tail to a black tip. Adults typically weigh about 8–15 lb (3.6–7 kg), and the short legs make it look smaller than a red fox.
- Voice
- Barks and growls; it also communicates with scent marks and body posture.
Look-alikes
Red FoxVulpes vulpes
Red foxes are mostly orange-red with a white tail tip and black "stockings" on the legs. Gray foxes are grizzled gray with a black tail tip and no black stockings. In a close-up, gray foxes have oval pupils, while red foxes have slit-like ones.
Why they get mixed upBoth are fox-sized and share much of the same range.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Deciduous woods
- Brushy woodland edges
- Rocky hillsides
- Suburbs
- Range
- Found from southern Canada through most of the US to northern South America. It's the only member of the dog family whose natural range spans both North and South America.
- Preferred conditions
- Prefers brushy, wooded country, especially where woods meet farm fields; it uses more wooded habitat than the red fox. In the West it often lives in juniper and ponderosa pine country. It also does well in suburbs.
- Seasons
In Tennessee
Breeding Jan–May
Behavior
- Diet
- . Cottontail rabbits, mice, woodrats, and other small mammals make up much of the diet, plus birds, insects, carrion, and lots of fruit and berries in season.
- Activity
- Mostly active at night and shy. It grips a trunk with its front feet and pushes with its hind feet to climb, using trees to rest, forage, and escape danger.
Life cycle
- Breeding season
- Varies by region; in Tennessee it runs from January to mid-May, peaking in February or early March.
- Nest
- Dens in hollow trees or logs, under rock piles, or in burrows, sometimes even in abandoned buildings.
- Gestation
- About 53–63 days
- Litter size
- 1–7 pups (about 4 on average)
- Lifespan
- Usually 6–10 years in the wild
Name and classification
- About the name
- Urocyon means "tail dog" in Greek, and cinereoargenteus means "ashy silver," for the tail. Gray foxes are not close relatives of red foxes: their genus split off very early from all other living members of the dog family. Sixteen subspecies are recognized, such as the Eastern and California gray foxes.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Hunted and trapped for fur in many states, including Tennessee. Trapping rose sharply in the 1970s when pelt prices climbed.
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