Family: Canidae, Dogs view all from this family

Description Uniquely-colored fox with a bushy, white-tipped tail. Most animals are red-colored with black feet and black-tipped, triangular ears. Other morphs include a black phase, a silver phase (black hair tipped with silver), and a cross phase (reddish brown with dark on shoulders).

Dimensions 74-82cm, 27-33cm; / 68-75cm, 23-30cm, 3-6kg

Breeding Breeding occurs from December-March and litters of 4-7 pups are born after a gestation period of 51-53 days. They dig dens, or modify badger or woodchuck burrows for rearing the young, which are weaned after a lactation period of about 2 months.

Habitat Beaches, shorelines & estuaries, Forests & woodlands, Grasslands & prairies, Lakes, ponds, rivers & streams, Meadows & fields, Scrub, shrub & brushlands

Range Plains, Great Lakes, New England, Mid-Atlantic, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Florida, Texas, California, Northwest, Eastern Canada, Western Canada, Alaska

Discussion Opportunistic foragers and scavengers, they prey heavily on voles and rabbits, as well as other small mammals, birds, invertebrates, and even fruit when available. The world’s most widely distributed mammal, they are declining in the east due to Coyote expansion. Prefers landscapes with a mixture of both open fields and brushy or forested areas.