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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing the grey fox. Though these mammals share a common name with the “true” foxes, grey foxes aren’t closely related to members of the Vulpes genus like the red fox or the Arctic fox. In fact, the grey fox is currently believed to be the most basal living canid in the world. What this means is grey foxes are the most primitive, or ancestral, of all the canids alive today. The grey fox’s closest living relative is the Island fox with whom it shares its genus.

These canids live in North America from Canada down to the northern tip of South America. They were once the most widespread fox-like animals in this region, but they’ve since been taken over by the red fox. These two species can be told apart by their coloration. Red foxes have dark legs and a white tipped tail and grey foxes have a black tipped tail with a dark stripe running down their back. They can also climb trees, something no other living canid outside of their genus can do! One might call them, the cat-like canid!

Grey foxes prefer habitats with tree cover and access to water but they can also be found in grasslands and urban settings. They’re less likely than red foxes to invade agricultural land, though misidentification often leads to this animal’s untimely demise at the hands of humans. People may be the biggest threat to grey foxes due to hunting, trapping, and run-ins with cars. Other grey fox predators include bobcats, owls, eagles, and coyotes. Grey foxes are smaller than coyotes and can be told apart by their shorter stature and the black line that runs along their tail. They’re also more cat-looking than coyotes with narrow pupils compared to a coyote’s round pupils.

Grey foxes escape predators by dashing to a nearby den. They may let out warning calls while they do this as heard here: [audio]. Their dens are underground, in rock piles and fallen logs, or even up in tree hollows where they can remain above the forest floor. Grey fox kits are also raised in dens. These mammals breed from late fall to winter. They are typically monogamous throughout a season. The female remains pregnant for about two months and then gives birth to a litter of four kits on average. Both parents take part in raising their young. The mother stays at the den while the father hunts until the babies are fully weaned at about six weeks of age. From then on they slowly learn skills from their parents so they can survive on their own. Foxes leave their natal range at about ten months of age at which point they become reproductively mature. On average, these canids live six to eight years in the wild.

Grey foxes are omnivores. You may be surprised to learn that during certain parts of their year, and in certain parts of their range, a majority of their diet is fruit! Nuts, grains, and fruits make upwards of 70% of their diet during the spring, and grey foxes living towards the West coast in more desert-like regions enjoy fruit throughout the entire year! They also eat invertebrates like grasshoppers, moths, and beetles as well as small vertebrates like rodents, lizards, and rabbits.

Grey foxes are approximately cat-sized weighing 9 pounds (4kg) on average and standing 14 inches (36cm) tall at the shoulder. They reach just over three feet (91cm) long with their fluffy tail making up a third of that length. Apart from females appearing slightly smaller than males, grey foxes don’t have external sexual dimorphism, however, males have a longer pelvic bone, wider shoulder bones, and thicker leg bones than females.

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