The cute little gray fox, Urocyon cinereargenteus, reportedly, the only fox that can climb trees. It loves high places and sleeps on cliffs, in trees, and occasionally in the ground. The gray fox shares most of its territory with the larger red fox, but the gray fox is endangered, as the red fox is as of right now, off the endangered species list. This is because humans enjoy the sport of hunting it up the tree. The gray fox is also known as the grey fox (note the E) and the tree fox.
Appearance and Physical Information
The gray fox is, of course, a grayish color with a black stripe on its back and highlights of reds and browns. It stays basically the same color year round, without the drastic variations of some foxes such as the arctic. There is one specialty of the gray fox. It has specially designed claws for climbing trees. This fox can live to be about 14 years old and gets to be about 50-75 cm with a 30-40 cm tail. It only weighs about 3-6 kg compared to the red fox at 7 kg.
Character
The gray fox is lazy and less crafty than the red fox, but does enjoy climbing. The fox climbs trees for fun, to escape predators (or man), and to snatch birds from nests. Along with birds, the fox also eats insects, small animals, and fruit. Once a year, sometime around January-March, the gray fox gets frisky. After a gestation period of about 63 days, the vixen (or female fox) gives birth to anywhere from 2-7 kits.
Location
The gray fox is endangered in southern Canada and northern North America. Its range spreads throughout North America and parts of Canada.
