Just seen a red fox go up a tree after some squirrels. I didn't know they can climb trees

[NNN0LHI]

They can: http://www.nationaltrappers.com/grayfox.html

I have seen a gray fox mother up in the crotch of a tree knocking berries out and down to her pups a few times. But that tree was really slanted over. I could have walked up it.

Not like this tree today. This tree is straight as a telephone pole and that fox was at least six feet up it going after a couple of squirrels before my dogs noticed and started barking and scared it off.

Amazing things to see.

Don

[Bosso 63]

1. I had no idea!

[hedgehog]

2. Do you think red and gray foxes cross-breed? I know I've

seen some foxes with a wide stripe of red/gray fur on their backs. Definitely not a red fox with all that gray.

[leveymg]

3. My dog wishes she could do that. She gets about six feet up. If she had the right

claws, she might finally catch one.

But, come to think of it, I'm glad the dog's claws aren't any sharper than they already are.

[leveymg]

5. Yes, but have you ever seen a giraffe climb a tree?

Now, how do I get down?

[NNN0LHI]

8. That is the neatest picture

Thanks for posting it.

Don

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. I'm rooting for the fox.

[happyslug]

6. Red Fox and Gray Fox represent two different habitats.

The Gray Fox, native to the US, will go straight to a tree. That is because the Gray Fox is a deep forest resident and any tree is as good as the next AND once up, like a Squirrel, they can go from tree to tree via the interconnecting tree limbs. The Gray Fox is the best tree climbing among the Candids (The Asiatic Raccoon dog is its nearest competitor in tree climbing).

The Red Fox is more an pasture/Grasslands animal. Trees in such pastures are often isolated from other trees and thus traps if whatever is chasing the fox can stay at the base of the tree. Red Foxes are native to Canada and other areas with open pastures or other grasslands broken up with trees (Red Foxes avoid open grasslands, preferring broken grassland over all grassland).

Thus the Red Fox is native in North America, but not to the East Coast and thus had to be imported in Colonial Days when the Colonists of Virgina and the rest of the American South, wanted to do Fox hunting (Recent DNA studies seems to downplay the Foxes imported from Europe, reflecting the fact that Red Foxes moved down the East Coast as it was open up for Farming in the 1600, 1700s and 1800s. Just a comment on why Red Foxes were imported to North America where they are technically native but no one could find one in the 1600s). Please note, where the Foxes were imported from is unknown, but while the sources I have read clearly assumes Europe, it may have been Canada. The Gulf Stream is a huge restriction on shipping to this day, but in the days of sail restricted Atlantic Trade tremulously. Do to the Gulf Stream, it took six weeks to sail from Europe to North American, but only one week to do the reverse. In fact it may have been easier to ship the foxes from New Found-land, cross the Gulf Stream and then take it up back to Virginia. Thus the reports that Red Foxes were imported from England may have been what the buyers of the Foxes were told, but the source may be a lot closer to home (i.e. New Found-land).

When Europeans first hit the 13 colonies, they wanted to do Fox hunting, as in England, but the Gray Fox would not run through the pasture, instead run up the nearest tree. Thus they imported in Red Fox to do proper fox hunting. With the opening up of the American Forest in the 1600, 1700 and 1800s, the Red Fox boomed and the Gray Fox declined in numbers. With the re-growth of American Eastern Forests after 1900 the reversed kicked in, the Gray Fox Boomed and the Red Fox numbers declined.

More on the Gray Fox:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_fox

More on the Red Fox:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Fox

More on the Raccoon dog:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon_dog

More on the Silver Fox (a North American Variation of the Red Fox):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_fox_%28animal%29

[NNN0LHI]

7. Don't have the links handy but I read a couple of sources that suggested that ...

... where both red and gray foxes shared the same territory the red foxes appeared to be just as prone to be tree climbers as the grays. Some have suggested the reason for this is that the reds learn to do it from their gray brethren due to living in such close proximity to one another. Not sure how much truth there is to that theory though? But it sounded interesting. I see just as many grays as reds around this area.

Think I found some of the links that suggested this theory by Googling >>>can a fox climb a tree<<< earlier today.

Don

[happyslug]

9. In my area, I rarely see either, but when I do, it is Gray Foxes in deep woods, Red Foxes other area

When I walk my dog, which tend to encourage most animals to avoid the path I take (I also tend to walk mid-day and both foxes are more night time, dusk and dawn animals), I have seen a Gray Fox in the heavily forested areas, Red foxes in the more open area near the local High School (Which is right next to the large Forested area). I have always suspected that the difference was more do to the natural of the two then anything else.

The problem with Red Foxes adopting a more Gray Fox life Style is that the physical ability of both is different. The Gray Fox has claws that permit it to climb straight up a tree without any tree limbs. Its claws are tough enough to dig into the trunk of a tree and climb that tree. Red Foxes do NOT have that same claw and thus can NOT climb up trees as well as the Gray Fox. Red Foxes may very well emulate Gray Foxes, but only to a degree, you can NOT duplicate what you can NOT do, and the Red Fox can NOT climb up a trunk of a tree, it can jump into the lower branches and climb from that point, but NOT crawl right up the trunk like a gray fox can. Below is a New York State Department of Environmental Protection article on Gray Foxes and point out the eastward expansion of Coyotes had had almost no affect on Gray Foxes, who tend to den in Deep woods and high in trees, but have has lead to a drop in Red Fox population do to the Coyotes viewing Foxes as food and the Red Fox inability to climb trees as well as the Gray Fox.

This sight has picture of a Gray Fox climbing a tree just using its claws to dig into the tree, please note the pictures are halfway down in the site so you have to go by a lot of pictures of Gray Fox paw prints before you get to the pictures:
http://www.bear-tracker.com/grayfox.html

More on the Gray Fox tree climbing ability

http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/the-tale-of-two-foxes-in-west-virginia/

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/63058.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ef-v7YQHAcUC&pg=PA255&lpg=PA255&dq=Gray+Fox+Tree+Climbing+PA&source=bl&ots=-UINKKNIgk&sig=eqLcDgnaYdF2Q8jDbbFjM75Hc8c&hl=en&ei=Itn1TLKULIS0lQeBpdTKBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.outdooralabama.com/hunting/articles/climbingfox.cfm
http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2006/jun/legend/
http://www.nationaltrappers.com/grayfox.html
Red Foxes tracks:
http://www.bear-tracker.com/redfox.html

[hedgehog]

10. well , that answers my question- I didn't realize that a gray fox

is mostly gray with some reddish patches.