Zoo-Ology: Gray foxes like to climb trees
Animal is thought to mate for life, with three to seven pups born in April or May
The gray fox is most active at night or during dawn/dusk hours. It usually hunts alone, eating small mammals, birds, insects, eggs, fruit, nuts and berries.
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By Judie Farnsworth
Look - up in the tree! It's a bird! It's a cat! It's - a fox?
Strange as it seems, the gray fox is quite at home in trees.
This handsome fox has silver-gray fur on its back and black markings on its tail and head. Once the most common fox in the east, loss of wooded habitat has caused its decline and the red fox is now dominant.
The gray fox is dominant in the Pacific states. It's most active at night (nocturnal) or dawn/dusk hours (crepuscular). It usually hunts alone, eating small mammals, birds, insects, eggs, fruit, nuts and berries.
The ability to climb vertically up trees is unique to the gray fox. The Asian raccoon dog is the only other canid (dog) with this ability. Strong, hooked claws are used to scramble up trees for food, to escape a predator or just watch the world go by. There may be an occasional nap in a penthouse hawk or owl nest.
The descent may be with jumps from branch to branch, head first or backing down like a cat.
The gray fox is thought to mate for life. The female (vixen) dens beneath buildings, in caves, hollow trees, stumps or may enlarge the burrow of another animal, like a woodchuck.
Three to seven pups are born in April or May.
The male brings food for the family during the first 10 weeks, as the pups grow, learn to venture out and are weaned. A group of foxes is called a skulk.
Dens can be fairly simple, or quite an architectural feat. There may be multiple exits and side chambers. The chambers are for storing food and providing fresh areas for the young, whose sanitation habits are pretty much nonexistent when they're tiny.
Dens of 75 feet have been found. It's rare, but this fox has been known to raise a family 20 or more feet above the ground . in a hollow tree. The family stays together until the fall.
Three wonderful gray fox pups were born at The Texas Zoo on April 9. Two males, Hunter and Remy, and a foxy little lady named Trixie are waiting for you to visit. Victoria, the mother, has been a protective and good mom, but we think she's ready to loosen the apron strings a bit. The pups are in the outdoor exhibit area, with Victoria, for you to enjoy as they grow.
Judie Farnsworth is a long-time volunteer at the Texas Zoo specializing in educational programs.
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Great column! I look forward to it every week.
June 27, 2011 at 5:28 p.m.Hello Judie- always enjoy your column, and I always learn something. Thanks!
June 27, 2011 at 5:08 p.m.A few points need to be clarified as internet "facts" often leave much to be desired: First, grays do not LIKE to climb trees but do so on occasion out of necessity. Nonetheless, it is not a common occurrence, though they are quite adept at navigating branches once pressed into climbing .
Gray fox populations are at all-time highs in many parts of the country, including this region -- thanks in part to the decline of the trapping industry and more coyotes being taken by varmint hunters. In fact, the populations densities and a shortage of available forage have forced many of them into the city limits and in much closer proximity to man. Thus, in areas where the gray populations abound and receive minimal hunting pressure, the overall health of the animals can and will suffer, with distemper being more common than most people realize. (For those unfamiliar with the disease, it's not a pretty sight.)
In weighing dozens of these animals of the years, I've found that fully mature females will average around 7.5 pounds while males are approximately 9 pounds. Granted, given an availability of easy prey, they can grow several pounds larger, but those are the exception and not the norm.
In this area, the peak of the breeding season runs from early-to-mid January. Thus, that means the pups hit the ground in early-to-mid March. I have never seen any born as late as May as the article claims. Also, it is a rarity for more than 4 pups to be born.
June 27, 2011 at 4:07 p.m.