Foxes black white gray red brown. Photo of a gray fox - behavior of a gray fox. Excerpt characterizing the Gray Fox

Name: gray fox, tree fox.
Latin generic name Urocyonis, based on Greek words oura(tail) and kyon(dog). Species name cinereoargenteusis derived from Greek word cinereus(ashy) and argenteus(silver), indicating the dominant color of the fox.

Area: The gray fox is found throughout most of North America from southern regions Canada to the Isthmus of Panama also in northern South America (Venezuela and Colombia). The gray fox is not found in the Rocky Mountains of the far northwestern United States. The gray fox disappeared from Canada in the late 17th century, but they have recently been found in southern Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. In a number of places it disappeared after the brown fox from Europe acclimatized there. Some researchers argue that the causal relationship between these events is questionable. According to them, the decline in gray fox numbers, and the spread of brown fox, was the result of changes in human land use.

Description: The gray fox is smaller than the brown fox and looks like a small dog with a bushy tail. She has short powerful legs and strong hooked claws that make it easy to climb tree trunks and branches. Compared to other canids, the gray fox has a rather variegated coloration, and its fur is quite short and coarse. Tail in cross section triangular rather than round. Skull length: from 9.5 to 12.8 cm. Number of teeth - 42.

Color: Back, sides and top part Long, bushy tails are gray or dark gray with silver flecks. The muzzle is also gray. The lower part of the neck, chest, abdomen, as well as the front and inner sides legs are distinguished by a whitish-gray color. The tip of the tail is black. Slightly noticeable black stripes appear on the back (sometimes they are clearly visible). The crown, side of the neck, edges of the abdomen and the outer sides of the legs are colored reddish-gray, and sometimes have a bright reddish-orange color. Because of this coloration, the gray fox is sometimes mistakenly identified as a brown fox, which can always be distinguished by its black legs and white tail tip. Fox cubs are almost black.

Size: Body length - 48-69 cm; heads - 9.5-12.8 cm; length - 25-40 cm; height at withers - about 30 cm.

Weight: ranges from 2.5 to 7 kg, but most often it is 3.5-6 kg. Females are always somewhat lighter than males.

Lifespan: in nature up to 6 years, maximum life expectancy in captivity is 15 years.

Habitat: Most often, the gray fox can be found in thickets of bushes, on forest edges, and in mountain copses. In general, it prefers wooded areas, although it is found in cultivated fields and in the vicinity of cities. Of the tree plantations, pine trees are the most preferred. The gray fox prefers pine groves to deciduous ones everywhere within its range; this is where it mainly locates its den. At the same time, for hunting and feeding, it often chooses deciduous trees and shrubs, in which small mammals are more numerous.

Like other canids, gray foxes communicate with each other and through sounds. These vocalizations include aggressive yelps, resonant howls, soft whimpers, and specific calls. Among the sounds made by a gray fox when it sees a person, the most characteristic is a sharp bark.

Food: The gray fox is an omnivore, and its diet is very diverse and depends on the time of year and habitat and includes: small vertebrates, especially rabbits, rodents, birds and their eggs, insects. Sometimes she has to eat alone plant foods th (fruits, fruits, nuts, grain, etc.), the fox does not refuse carrion. Thanks to its ability to climb trees, its diet includes purely arboreal creatures such as squirrels - in some places playing important role in the diet of the gray fox, which does not occur in other wild canids.

Behavior: Gray foxes love to climb trees, which is why they are often called "tree foxes." At the first danger, they often climb onto low or half-fallen, leaning trees. This ability likely allowed the gray fox to coexist with coyotes, while the brown fox population declined significantly as the coyote population increased.
How do gray foxes climb trees? Lightly grasping the tree trunk with her front paws, she pushes her body up with her hind legs, which, thanks to her long and strong claws, hold her firmly to the trunk. In addition, the fox is able to jump onto the branching branches of a tree, using this ability to ambush prey from above. On the ground, when chasing prey or hiding from an enemy, a gray fox can reach speeds of up to 17 km/h, but only over relatively short distances.
It hunts mainly at night and twilight, and lies down all day in a secluded place, sleeps and rests. Animals are usually attached to the same place, so their lifestyle is sedentary; they have never been seen migrating. They rarely dig burrows on their own, but more often they are occupied by strangers; sometimes they choose hollow trees as their own home; they can settle in rock crevices, voids under stones and trunks, even in abandoned buildings. In eastern Texas, a cavity was found used by a fox to rest about 10 m above the ground in a large hollow oak tree. In central Texas, a den was found in a hollow live oak tree with an entrance 1 m above the ground. The unusual den was found under a pile of wood, into which the fox had "tunneled."
Gray foxes need clean water to drink, so they regularly visit the pond. In this regard, they locate their lairs near the source drinking water, where, over time, a clearly visible path is trampled.

Social structure: They live in pairs, occupying a specific family territory. In the summer, while the fox cubs are growing up, gray foxes wander family packs, which disintegrate by autumn. The area of ​​the family plot varies from 3 to 27.6 km 2 and in different family groups they usually partially overlap. Outside the breeding season, the individual areas of males practically do not overlap, while the areas of males and females can overlap by 25-30%. The size of such overlap depends both on the food supply of the areas and on the season of the year. Being fairly silent territorialists, gray foxes mark their territorial boundaries with piles of droppings and urine, which are left on the most noticeable boundary markers such as tufts of grass and protruding structures: earthen hummocks, stumps, individual stones, etc. These scent marks are regularly updated, especially in places frequently visited by animals. The specific smell is provided by a secretion produced by a pair of violet glands located on both sides of the anus. Both males and females appear to raise their leg when marking territory with urine. A pungent odor, very similar to that emitted by skunks, is easily detected even by humans in places where gray foxes there are often marked "border pillars".

Reproduction: During the breeding season, numerous fierce fights occur between males, after which the winning male remains with the female and forms a pair. After the birth of the offspring, the males take an active part in obtaining food for the puppies and protecting the boundaries of the family territory from the penetration of other foxes.

Breeding season/period: The time of rutting and mating depends on the latitude of the area and is observed from December to April.

Puberty: males mature at 10 months; females give birth at one year of age.

Pregnancy: lasts 51-63 days, average 53 days.

Offspring: In a den carefully lined with dry grass, leaves or crushed tree bark, from 2 to 7 (average 3.8) black-brown, blind and helpless puppies are born. Puppies weighing about 100 g have their eyes closed; they open only at 10-14 days. Lactation lasts 7-9 weeks, and they begin to consume solid food from 5-6 weeks. If possible, as soon as the puppies have grown a little, foxes try to change the old den for a new one due to mass reproduction they contain fleas, which greatly plague both adults and puppies.
At the age of four months, fox cubs begin to accompany adults on hunts.
Fox cubs are weaned at 6 weeks of age. At three months of age, fox cubs begin to hunt with their parents.

Benefit/harm for humans: Gray fox fur is enough Low quality, therefore it is not of particular interest as an object of industrial hunting, but only as a sport one. In the state of Texas, the gray fox is considered one of the most important fur-bearing animals. It is abundant in desert areas, where it often helps farmers in the fight against harmful rodents. When the gray fox becomes a pest itself, eating chickens and destroying crops, farmers shoot them or catch them in all sorts of traps.

Population/Conservation Status: Widespread, not endangered.

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Description

Small gray fox. Around the dark brown nose, the fur is “painted” with a white spot, the main color is red-brown, the sides, neck and paws of the gray fox are covered with fur of this color. The belly area is covered with white fur. Also characteristic black line, stretching from the base of the tail to its tip. Another distinctive feature there is another black line crossing the face from the nose to the eyes, then “going” back along the sides of the head. The height at the withers is 30-40 cm. The gray fox is very agile and dexterous for its family, it runs fast, and also knows how to climb trees (it is also called tree fox).

The gray fox has a dense build, with shorter paws compared to the red fox, so it is smaller in stature, but its long fluffy tail looks more luxurious than that of its rival, but its undercoat does not protect against the cold as well as at the red fox. Therefore, the gray fox cannot live in particularly cold climates.

Reproduction and population

Gray foxes are monogamous and live with a partner for the rest of their lives. After mating, in February, the mother can give birth to 4 to 10 fox cubs, which, after 11 months of age, already leave their parents. Perhaps it was precisely because of this ability for fertility that this species was not on the verge of death. The annual extermination of the gray fox, for example, in Wisconsin, because of its soft fur, reduced the population size of the species by up to half.

Subspecies

• Urocyon cinereoargenteus borealis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus californicus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus colimensis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus costaricensis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus floridanus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus fraterculus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus furvus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus guatemalae
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus madrensis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus nigrirostris
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus ocythous
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus orinomus
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus peninsularis
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus scotti
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus townsendi
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus venezuelae

Notes

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• Wuhou (Kingdom of Wei, Zhangguo era)
• O-Ban

See what "Gray Fox" is in other dictionaries:

gray fox- pilkoji lapė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Urocyon cinereoargentatus engl. eastern gray fox; gray fox; Virginian fox vok. Festland Graufuchs eng. gray fox pranc. renard gris; renard gris argenté… Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

Argentine gray fox- ? Argentine gray fox Scientific classification Kingdom ... Wikipedia

Island gray fox- ? Island fox Scientific classification Kingdom: Animals Type: Chordata ... Wikipedia

Fox- This term has other meanings, see Fox (meanings). Fox, or vixen common name several species of mammals of the canine family. Only 11 species of this group belong to the genus of foxes proper (lat. Vulpes). Most... ... Wikipedia

FOX- (fur) skin beast of prey foxes. In the USSR, foxes are hunted almost everywhere; in addition, they are bred in fur farms. Skins from wild foxes are obtained: common fox, or so-called. red, gray, cross, black-brown; from... ... Concise Encyclopedia household

Corsac fox

Corsac fox- ? Corsac Scientific classification Kingdom: Animals Type: Chordata Class ... Wikipedia

gray flying fox- pilkoji skraidančioji lapė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Pteropus griseus engl. gray flying fox rus. gray flying fox ryšiai: platesnis terminas – skraidančiosios lapės … Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

Crab-eating fox- ? Maikong Scientific classification Kingdom: Animals Type: Chordata Subphylum ... Wikipedia

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Books

• Gray neck, Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak. A little defenseless duck named Gray Neck The fox injured her, and she could not fly away with the others when autumn came. About her friendship with the hare and the wood grouse, about their struggle with the fox, about her...

We know that most people love foxes, but how can you not love these beauties in fluffy fur coats? Therefore, we decided that you would be interested in learning about some of the most beautiful and bright views these forest animals. Common or red fox ( Vulpes vulpes), this is what usually comes to mind when you hear the word "fox" and it makes sense, because this type The fox is the most common in the world and can be found anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. If you love foxes and think they look much better in the wild than on someone's neck, then you'll definitely want to see the 7 most beautiful views foxes in their natural element!

Fennec Fox

Fennec foxes, living in North Africa and the Sahara Desert, are distinguished by their big ears, which serve not only to enable the animal to hunt better, but also to better cool the body during the heat of the day. Their creamy fur also helps them avoid the harsh sun during the day and keep them warm at night.

Red Fox

Red fox is the largest, most widely distributed and, as a result, the most diverse species of all foxes. They can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and in Australia. These foxes are very clever hunters and can even jump over a two-meter fence.

Marble Fox

The Arctic marbled fox is also a representative of the red fox species, the color of which is not found in wildlife- its color was bred artificially for the sake of fur.

Gray Fox

The gray fox that lives in North America, distinguished by its salt-and-pepper coat, black-tipped tail and red muzzle, this fox is one of the few canines capable of climbing trees.

Black and brown fox (Silver Fox)

The silver fox is actually the same species of red fox, differing only in different pigmentation. There was a time when the silver fox was considered one of the most valuable fur-bearing foxes that could be found. People still breed and raise them for their fur.

Arctic Fox

Arctic fox can be found throughout the Arctic Circle. Its thick fur protects the animal from enormous low temperatures(-70 degrees Celsius). These foxes have relatively short legs and snouts, which allows them to retain heat.

Cross Fox

Another species of red fox, which is the most common in North America.

People often associate the fox with cunning and deceit, with a red tail and a wary gaze. However, not all so simple. Our selection includes seven such different and such charming species of foxes, which differ from each other not only in color, but also in their character.

fennec

Fennec fox can't boast large sizes- this animal is smaller domestic cat. But the fennec's ears are the envy of all predators - almost half the length of the animal's body! Such ears help the fox to hear the rustling sounds of prey - small insects and lizards that live in the sands northern Africa. In addition, huge ears help to better cool the body during hot weather.

Red fox

Red fox is the most numerous common species among foxes. This animal can be seen throughout Europe, North America, India and China, as well as in Australia, where foxes were specially brought as natural enemies endlessly multiplied rodents. Red foxes typically live in burrows. They can dig them themselves or can occupy the empty hole of other animals: marmots, badgers or arctic foxes. However, there are cases when a fox takes up residence in someone else’s burrow, even though its owner has not yet “moved” to another place.

Marbled fox

Actually arctic marbled fox is a subspecies of the common red fox, artificially bred for its exotic fur.

Gray fox

Gray fox lives in Northern and Central America. They are known for being monogamous animals and living with their partner for the rest of their lives. In addition, this is the only fox that can climb trees.

Black and brown fox

Black and brown fox, or silver fox, differs from the red one only in that there are absolutely no red hairs in its color. Sometimes completely black, sometimes gray with a bluish tint, sometimes ashen - foxes of such exotic color are very popular in livestock farming, where they are used for fur.

polar fox

polar fox, also known as the arctic fox, is famous for its fluffy snow-white fur, which helps the animal withstand cold temperatures down to -70 C. However, in the summer this fox is unrecognizable - the arctic fox is the only one among foxes who changes its color, and in the warm season it becomes dirty brown colors.

Gray fox or tree fox - a representative of wolves, more often found in North America and in the northern part South America. When disappeared from Canada, it appeared in Southern Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec.

Appearance of a gray fox

The gray fox looks like a small dog with a beautiful fluffy tail. She is much smaller than brown foxes.

Appearance like common fox, only with a shorter muzzle and ears. Short, powerful legs have tenacious nails that allow them to climb trees and branches well. Has uneven coat color. The muzzle, back, sides and long fluffy tail are painted with gray or silver light. Red light spreads over the neck, sides of the head and torso. Present below White light, the tip of the tail is painted black. The fur is short and coarse and covers the entire body of the fox. The fox's tail is of an unusual triangular shape.

Sixty-nine centimeters body length. Nine and a half centimeters head.
Weighing from two and a half to seven kg. The tail reaches forty centimeters.
In nature it lives for about six years, in zoos up to fifteen.

Gray fox habitat

The animal has fallen in love with forest thickets and can also be found at the edge of the forest and small copses. Likes to approach crop fields, sometimes found in the vicinity of villages and cities. She considers pine groves her home and makes a den in them. But he hunts in deciduous tree bushes, there are more small mammals for feed. Foxes live in holes, but rarely dig themselves; they usually find secluded places, sometimes use tree hollows, are settled between stones, and other people's holes.

live sedentary way life. Animals love to drink clean water, so habitats are chosen closer to water. Well-trodden fox paths can be seen near the water.
When foxes see people, they bark, and in the forest they make other sounds similar to howls and whimpers.

Gray fox behavior

Because foxes love to climb trees, they are called tree foxes. When an unfamiliar or dangerous object approaches, with a quick jump and tenacious claws they cling to a hill, to fallen and small trees, stumps located higher. Clinging with hooked claws, they can jump to another tree. The fox is held on the tree by strong powerful legs and strong claws; it can jump from the tree for prey.

In pursuit of prey or to hide from the enemy, it runs at speeds of up to seventeen kilometers, in short intervals. The tree serves as a shelter from the enemy, here she rests, but breeds offspring in burrows.

Foxes live in pairs, each family has its own land boundary. They mark territorial spaces with their urine and droppings. They roam in family packs all summer until their offspring grow up. Grown foxes move long distances from their mothers and subsequently look for mates. The boundaries of the areas of married couples reach large areas up to 27 square meters. The outskirts of neighboring territories often overlap.

Reproduction of gray foxes

Depending on where they live, they breed from December to April. At this time, the males fight among themselves for the female, the winner forms a pair with her. When the babies appear, the males show care and obtain food for the little foxes and defend their territory.

Before giving birth, the den is covered with dried leaves, grass, or small tree bark. The fox brings from two to seven babies. They are born blind and helpless, weighing no more than a hundred grams. They open their eyes on the tenth, fourteenth day. The mother suckles for seven to nine weeks, then switches to solid food. There are a lot of fleas in the den, they eat the whole family. As soon as the puppies grow a little and can move independently, the fox moves to another place. Upon reaching three months taken away from breast milk. From three months old, babies are taught to hunt small animals.

Feeding of the gray fox

The main diet of the tree fox consists of plant foods. Among all wolves, this species is most prone to plant foods. It feeds on insects, mice, gophers, hares, birds and their eggs, and carrion. Enjoys fruits, bulbs and grains. He can catch a squirrel in a tree and eat it.

Representatives of the gray fox danger

The greatest danger to the gray fox is the hawk, golden eagle, big owls. They attack from above, the fox cannot cope with them. Red lynxes and dogs hunt small foxes.

Gray fox fur is not valued. That's why people don't hunt gray foxes. The state of Texas is overrun with gray fox numbers. Animals love to catch mice in farmers' crop fields, this helps in the fight against rodents. But often foxes become pests of farms, then they are caught in traps and shot.

Video about the gray fox