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The Gray Fox: The Fox That Climbs Trees
The gray fox is not a Vulpes, has a black-tipped tail, eats more fruit than most canids and climbs trees. A full guide to Urocyon cinereoargenteus.
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Topic
gray fox
In much of the United States, the fox in the woodlot is not a red fox. The grey fox belongs to its own genus, split from other canids 8–12 million years ago, and it climbs trees with hooked claws to escape coyotes, rest and reach fruit.
These articles cover how to tell it from a red fox — the tail tip settles it — its unusually plant-heavy diet, and where it sits in the wider family.
What these articles will let you do
- Identify a grey fox by tail tip, build and leg colour
- Understand why a climbing canid exists at all
- Place Urocyon correctly against the true foxes
1 article on gray fox
Gray fox: common questions
- How do I tell a grey fox from a red fox?
- The tail. Grey foxes have a black stripe and a black tip; red foxes have a white tip. Grey foxes also lack black stockings and are stockier.
- Can grey foxes climb trees?
- Yes — hooked, semi-retractile claws and rotating forearms let them climb trunks and move between branches. Almost no other canid does this.
- What do grey foxes eat?
- Small mammals, insects, birds and a great deal of fruit. They are the most plant-eating canid in North America.
Related topics
species
The twelve true foxes of the genus Vulpes, plus the grey fox and other animals that carry the name.
identification
Telling foxes apart from dogs, cats and coyotes — and from each other — using field marks that work at distance.
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