Gray Fox

Gray foxes are nocturnal and elusive, making them hard to spot.  This fox is considered a paraphyletic fox, meaning it’s not a true fox because it doesn’t belong to the genus Vulpes but rather the genus Urocyon.  Belonging to the family Canidae, the gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus , and one other fox, the island fox, are the only two living members of the genus Urocyon.  Urocyon comes from Greek and means dog tail and cinereoargenteus means ashen silver referring to this fox’s tail color.  Gray foxes are an ancient species with fossil evidence placing it in North America some 3.6 million years ago.  And it is the only canid native to Ohio.

The gray fox is a small animal weighing in at only 7 to 14 pounds. It has coarse salt and pepper grey hair with stunning black and reddish-brown makings including a black stripe running down the top of its long bushy tail ending in a black tip. Gray foxes are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they don’t rely on a single food source.  Their diet varies with the season and the prey and plant materials available.  They’ll prey on any small mammal they can catch such as mice, squirrels, and rabbits.  But they also eat birds, eggs, insects, fruits, and nuts.  This fox is also called the tree fox as they are one of only two canid species in the world that can climb trees.  They have sharp, partially retractable claws, like a cat’s, and rotating wrists which allow them to rotate their foreleg more than other canids, giving them a better grip when climbing.  They climb trees to escape predators, to rest and to feed.  Although nocturnal a grey fox may hunt during the day when needed. But usually during the day, they will be resting in a tree or well hidden under some dense vegetation sleeping.

Gray foxes play an important role in the ecosystem.  They help with population control of small mammals, and they are valuable seed disbursers for fruits and berries.  Once the most common fox species in Ohio, the number of gray foxes has been declining for some time due to habitat loss, competition from coyotes, and disease.  In Ohio they are considered a “species of concern.”  Gray foxes thrive under the cover of dense forested areas.  For the gray fox to succeed they need these remaining forests to be dark at night.  Light pollution or skyglow can reach hundreds of miles from the urban area creating the pollution.   It reaches into the dark areas where the gray fox lives and interferes with their hunting, foraging and safety.  Light pollution is the one challenge to the gray foxes’ success that everyone can do something about.