Gyro (California Gray Fox)
Urocyon cinereoargenteus
California
Gray Fox are unusual because they are capable of climbing trees and
unfortunately henhouse fences. They are
smaller than the red fox found in the Midwest and east Coast, but are larger
than the endangered kit fox. Fox are
especially shy and timid in the wild and so you might not see them as often as
you will their bolder cousin the coyote.
Gray foxes are most easily distinguished from the kit fox by the black
strip that runs the length of the top of their tail while the kit fox only has
a black tipped tail.
When this fox came to us in spring 2017, she only had half a tail
and was quite habituated to people. She
whimpered and was attracted to people as soon as she saw or heard them. Her
tail bothered her constantly. She
continually chewed at it until there was almost nothing left. The veterinarian said there was very little
blood flow to the tail. This may have
contributed to the discomfort, not unlike your leg or arm when it falls asleep
and then has blood flow return. Fox use
their tail for balance and without hers, we’re not sure how well she will
survive in the wild. Fox also use their
tail as a warm cover in cold weather.
Not a lot is known about fox communication, but the tail does play a
role in fox etiquette. For all of these
reasons, we are not comfortable releasing her into the wild.