My camera trap had been out below our rental home in Trinidad, California for a week so I checked it yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to find a Grey Fox had visited the site and this marked my first of this beautiful mammal. Here you see the fox in an alert posture apparently listening for sounds nearby,
The fox visited the site three different times on the night of my wife's birthday (Feb. 2). The first photo was caught at 7:32 P.M.. The fox returned at 10:18 P.M. and again at 2:30 A.M.. We felt that it was a great birthday gift for both of us.
The Grey Fox is a member of the dog family (Canidae) which includes Coyotes and Wolves. They are the most omnivorous of all North American canids. Their diet consist of small mammals and birds as well as wild berries. They are a little larger than a domestic cat and their tracks (prints) are similar except the fox print shows claws. The fox is Nocturnal and crepuscular and is considered a habitat generalist. It appears that the Grey Fox is not found north of the Columbia river which explains why I didn't get any photos of them during my camera trapping along the East Fork of the Lewis river in Washington State. Each time I get a new species with my camera trap I thank my mentor Dr. Chris Wemmer for introducing me to this fascinating hobby.
4 comments:
Great photos, Terry. It looks like you are adapting well to your new surroundings!
Hi Doug
Thanks for your comment. Yes we must adapt because anything else would be bad karma. We do love the area for sure.
Gray Foxes are such beautiful animals, just look at their fuzzy coats. I wonder if it lives nearby or it just passes by.
The Gray Fox population is high in Humboldt county. There has been a high incidence of rabid fox in the area as well.
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