I love how nature changes and adapts. If you think about it, adapting is the hallmark of nature. It’s what nature does best. For without change or the ability to adapt nature could not exist.

Which brings me to a very interesting critter. A critter that has changed and adapted in a very unique and interesting way. It is the Gray Fox, (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)? Now I am sure you are familiar with the Red Fox, (Vulpes vulpes). It’s the common fox of fields and woodlands that can be found world wide. However the Gray Fox is found only in the Americas.

The Gray Fox is slightly smaller than the Red Fox and if you didn’t look at it closely you might not notice the differences between the two species. Gray Fox are grizzled gray in color with a rusty nape, shoulders and across the chest. Red Fox can sometimes have a similar dark color. Also, both have short legs and long busy tails. So distinguishing between the two can be tricky. But there is one feature that makes telling the difference between the two foxes simple and easy. The tip of the tail. The Red Fox will have a white tip while the Gray Fox will have a black tip. Simple as that. By the way, coyote and wolves also have black tips.

Similar to the Red Fox, the Gray Fox is a nocturnal hunter. It also hunts just before sunset and just before sunrise. Being active during this time period is called crepuscular.

The Gray Fox is more omnivorous than other foxes, feeding on small mammals such as mice and voles during winter and large insects and fruit during summer. This is where the change and adaptation comes in. The Gray Fox is usually seen hunting on the ground but they also climb trees to get to fruit. In fact they are sometimes called Treefox because they spend so much time in trees. Red Fox don’t climb trees.

Gray Fox climb trees not only for food but they also climb trees to escape predators and to sleep and rest. They are able to shinny up a vertical tree trunk due to a unique shoulder joint adaptation. They have a specialized shoulder joint that allows the front legs to rotate outward thus allowing the front legs to grab or hug a tree trunk. The hind feet push or propel the fox up the tree while the front legs hold on.

Once up the tree trunk it jumps from branch to branch or simply walks along the horizontal branches. It descends the tree by backing down or running headfirst down a sloping branch before jumping.

Usually seen alone or in pairs, the Gray Fox have a relatively small home range of just less than 3 square miles. However they are known to travel up to 50 miles to find a mate or to locate an unoccupied territory. They are believed to mate for life with both the male and female defending the territory.

Usually they have one main den dug into the earth along with several back up dens they need to abandon the main den site. Mothers give birth to 4-7 young fox called kits. The young are born blind and helpless. The male does all the hunting and brings food to the family in the den. The male never goes into a den which has kits and just leaves the food outside or with the mother.

The kits remain in the den with their mothers until they are old enough to come out and play. The kits are weaned at about 6-7 weeks. The young stay with the parents for the entire first summer but are dispersed at the end of the summer just before the parents start to mate again.

In many areas the Gray Fox is fairly common but as I said before, it goes unnoticed. Next time you are lucky enough to see a fox be sure to take a minute and look at the tip of the tail. Until next time

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the country to study and photograph wildlife. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com