Just thought I'd share this with you guys. Went to a soccer game tonight at Kimbrough Stadium, just north of Canyon. It's used by both Canyon ISD and WTAMU, and sits near Palo Duro Creek. This little guy was sitting about 20 feet off the ground and 10 feet over the roof of the men's bathroom, taking a snooze.

Uh, That's a gray fox.

I'll accept your ID, the person who told me it was there said red, and I know no better.

I guess I had this guy on my mind.



[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 2/12/2008 9:39p).]

On second thought this is a common gray fox Urocyon cinereoargenteus

[This message has been edited by AggiePam (edited 2/12/2008 9:43p).]

That is freakin awesome. It almost looks like a cat just lounging around the house.

I've known a lot of people I hunt with claim that these are red fox because of the rust color around the sides and legs. But when we actually saw a red fox, especially in the winter, they saw how the entire body is red with some white markings.

I can't bring myself to shoot these guys anymore, mainly because I live in a rural area and have a couple that den up in my back yard. I have more fun watching these little dogs than I ever did hunting them.

I wasn't trying to be an a$$ or overly critical, but after reading what I wrote, I can see how it may be taken the way I did not intend, so, I apologize if it was taken the wrong way.

No offense taken. Too bad I can't change the thread title.

I just thought the pic was too cute. Especially since I saw
him just snoozing away while folks walked right under him.

Red Fox



Gray Fox (another tree pic I found.)

Yeah, Grey's are known to climb trees and have semi-retractable claws, kind of like a cat.

cool pic

This thread reminds me of the afternoon I sat on a hillside in Hamilton County and had what I thought were two red fox walk within 10 feet of me. About 30 minutes later, a real red fox walked within 25 yards. I then realized the first two were both grey fox. That was the first time I had ever seen a live fox and saw three of them.

I had never seen one in my life or even heard of anyone seeing a fox up there. After the kids moved out and my dad died, a red fox moved in at our livestock pens. It raised a few litters of kits while I was off at college and my mom could watch them out her kitchen window. After a few years, it moved along and we never saw it again.

Sweet picture. Sadly, the grey fox is one of the species most often misidentified as a mountain loin-------I really wish I was kidding about that.

"Conservation of our resources is the fundamental question before this nation, and that our first and greatest task is to set our house in order and begin to live within our means."--Theodore Roosevelt, 1909

There's a red fox that lives over in the College Hills subdivision between Lincoln & Francis and bordered by Ashburn.

I used to see it about once a week when I was in school, really cool seeing a red fox in the middle of town. It's been a few years but I still look for it every time I go by that area.

they are awesome little critters. I am a huge fan.

Honest to god, I once watched a grey come up to two bedded does from downwind. Fox walked right between them, stopped, turned towards one of the does and touched noses with her. The doe stood up but never ran. The other doe only watched. The fox then ran towards my blind and up a cedar tree.

It was a very cool thing to watch happen.

And I thought this was going to be your photo

Ursus, I know it may be tough to do, but can you attempt to explain how a grey fox is mistaken for a lion? ...or at least how it's supposedly mistaken for a lion?

quote:

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as a mountain loin

---

Thinking about your upcoming Alaska trip with the rib?

I am also curious as to how someone could confuse a grey fox and a mountain lion.

Like I said, it is pretty sad. The mistaken identity usually occurs in the winter when they have their winter pelt, at least look a tad larger. Most folks don't realize there is a canine that can climb trees with ease, so that bahavioral trait throws people. Some folks also think they have more of a feline gait than a canine gait.

Beyond that, I am clueless as to how folks make the mistake. But I can tell you that within the last month, this very problem set off a media storm here in Texas. If you want a pretty decent read (and get really mad, hindsight 20/20 is great) about this being a problem, read the book "Beast in the Garden". It discusses how the mountain lion situation got set up for someone to get killed in Boulder, Co. One of the issues was that people called wolf (lack of better analogy) so often on yellow labs and grey foxes being mountain lions, that officials started ignoring the calls and just assuming it was another misidentification.

Heck, I'm floored how often bobcats are called mountain lion, but at least then they are in the same family.

And yes, I spend any free time researching Alaska for the upcoming trip

"Conservation of our resources is the fundamental question before this nation, and that our first and greatest task is to set our house in order and begin to live within our means."--Theodore Roosevelt, 1909

I think I can see how folks get it wrong. As said above, folks expect an animal up a tree to be a feline, not a canine. And it's really hard to judge size if you're not used to seeing things in the wild. This little guy looked pretty big in some ways, I think it was a trick of the perspective, and not really being able to judge how high in the tree and how far away he was at first.

Unfortunately it doesnt surprise me at all.

i'm a sucker for cute animals like this.

One of the coolest things I have witnessed hunting involved a red fox. We were sitting watching the turkeys mull around after they flew down into a field. This edges of this field had about 20 yards of orchard-spaced pecan trees, followed by a solid brush line. The turkeys were relatively spread out, and then out of brush line comes this red streak of lightning flying low. He stops about 30 yards in and jumps on some little animal, and then streaks back into the brush carrying his catch. The turkeys and us both took about a second to process what just happened, and then the turkeys just freaked out like the sky was falling. It was just plain cool, and something I won't forget.

We have those things all over Midland. Even downtown.

He is just so cute and cuddly! I wanna hug him! That is until he tears my eyes and lips off.

so are foxes canine or feline? silly question - i suppose i could google it...

canine

"Conservation of our resources is the fundamental question before this nation, and that our first and greatest task is to set our house in order and begin to live within our means."--Theodore Roosevelt, 1909

eh not really, they are a canid, though on the evolutionary ladder they are probably somewhere in the middle. That is if you believe in the kinda thing.