Common Gray Fox

Similar Species:
Red Fox has white tail tip. Kit Fox is smaller and has yellowish-buff fur with black tail tip.

Breeding:
Mates January-April; 1 litter of 1-7 young born March – May; gestation 53 days.

Habitat:
Varied; more often in wooded and brushy habitats than Red Fox.

Range:
Throughout e U.S. east from e North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma; in West, w Oregon, California, s Nevada, s Utah,, Colorado, Arizona, New México and most of Texas.

Although active primarily at twilight and at night, the Common Gray Fox is sometimes seen foraging by day in brush, thick foliage, or timber. The only American candid with true climbing ability, it occasionally forages in trees and often takes refuge in them.

Signs:
Tree and scent posts marked with urine noticeable on snow as spattered stains and melting.
Caches: Heaped or loosened dirt, moss or turf, Dug-up cache holes are shallow and wide, since foxes seldom bury very small prey except near the den in whelping season.
Den: Entrance size varies considerably, as most dens are in natural cavities; snagged hair or a few telltale bone scarps occasionally mark entrance; really, conspicuous mounds like those  of the Red Fox. Several auxiliary or escape dens nearby.
Scat: Small, narrow, roughly cylindrical, usually sharply tapered at one end; darker than Red Fox’s, particularly where wild cherries abound.