Page 50 - March/April 2020 - Outdoor Oklahoma

Watchable Wildlife
The Gray Fox by Justin Veach, Education Intern

O K L A H O M A’ S
Watchable Wildlife

the Gr ay fox

by j usti N v eaCh, eduCatioN i N terN

Three species of foxes can be found in Oklahoma, and grasshoppers and crickets to supplement their diet.

one of them is the gray fox. The others are the red fox The mating season for gray foxes is usually between
and the swift fox. January and April depending on climate and location.

The gray fox can easily be confused with the red fox, The male typically pairs with one female in its lifetime
but it can be distinguished by the patch of gray fur along unless that female dies. The gestation period lasts an

the back and face. The gray fox also has reddish-brown average of 53 days, and a litter will have up to seven
fur on its sides with a long bushy tail that has a black kits. The female prepares a den and tends to the kits,

stripe running along the top of it. while the male hunts for food. At
The gray fox is
Adult male gray foxes can reach about 3 months old, the kits are

the only species of
a weight up to 15 pounds, while taken out of the den to be taught
the adult female will usually weigh how to hunt. Within another
about 8 pounds. The average lifes- fox that can climb month, they are able to hunt on

pan of a gray fox in the wild is six their own.
straight up a tree.
to eight years. The den is then left until the
The gray fox is the only species of fox that can climb next year, and the same male and female will come back

straight up a tree. They do this to escape predators, together to produce and raise another litter. Gray foxes
search for food, or find a place to relax. They have the make their dens in crevices, caves, hollow logs, trees, or

ability to jump from branch to branch, and they use their burrows in the ground.
long sharp claws to climb up and down the trunk. Gray Gray foxes are able to mate at 1 year of age. This

foxes prefer to live in heavily wooded areas. Their color- can quickly lead to the population outgrowing the car-
ing helps them easily blend in with their environment. rying capacity of the environment, resulting in loss of

Gray foxes can run at speeds up to 27 mph and food, loss of habitat, and spreading of disease. To keep
can maintain that speed for quite some time; this this from happening, the Oklahoma Department of

helps them catch their prey. They eat various foods Wildlife Conservation has included gray foxes in the
including rodents, birds, insects, fruit, nuts, and furbearer trapping and hunting season from December

grass. During summer and fall, they will eat a lot of through February.

48 WATCHABLE WILDLIFE