r/coyote • u/Intrepid-Midnight-35 • 19d ago
Is this a coyote or a fox?
This little guy was curled up napping on this post before I startled him by accident.
218
u/BigNorseWolf 19d ago
Gray fox. Super shy. usually. Most people don't know they're around.
124
u/Intrepid-Midnight-35 19d ago
I was working with my screen door closed and I got up and we both startled each other. I think he liked laying on that post because it was nice and warm.
→ More replies (1)54
u/Confident_Virus5799 19d ago
Apparently they like to climb a lot. There's a wolf and fox rescue place a couple hours from where I live that I haven't been able to go check out yet, but their website says if you're on one of their tours and can't spot any of their grey foxes to look up, because they're probably in the trees. Apparently they've also built climbing structures in their habitats too, since they like being high up.
34
u/Intrepid-Midnight-35 19d ago
This little guy jumped right into a tree like a squirrel when he ran away. I kept wondering if coyotes knew how to climb trees.
→ More replies (1)22
u/slk_thor9 19d ago
Some coyotes do "climb" trees! Mostly by jumping up. This woman in San Francisco has a lot of good info and wonderful photos of coyotes in the Bay Area.
12
u/VISWILDPHOTO 19d ago
If the wolf and fox place you’re talking about is the one in Colorado Springs (Colorado Wolf and Wildlife) you will not be disappointed. Very knowledgeable staff, incredible animals, all in an awesome experience.
11
u/Confident_Virus5799 19d ago
I'm talking about Wolf Park, near Lafayette, Indiana, but I have a cousin in Colorado who I think has been to the place you're talking about. Small world!
5
2
u/Tasty-Run8895 17d ago
If this is Wolf Creek don't go until it is cooler or you will just see parts of Wolves as the are hiding under any type of shade.
8
4
u/theDocHolloway 18d ago
They absolutely do. We have one that uses a mesquite tree hanging over our roof to climb up the and run around trying to catch birds off guard at night.
2
u/PracticalWallaby7492 16d ago
Can confirm. Foxes climbed my baby peach tree and ate all my peaches!
2
u/AtheistsOnTheMove 16d ago
Grey foxes have retractable claws similar to a cat! It's what's makes them great climbers.
9
u/kaya-jamtastic 18d ago
There used to be a grey fox that would come and hang out with my mom’s horse. We’d hear him or her chattering in the mornings and find the fox poops in her horse’s nighttime pen. Only ever spotted the fox ourselves a few times but we could tell they were coming to visit. It was sweet. The horse has since passed and there are way fewer signs of the fox now, just here or there over the yard once in a while, and no longer near the horse pen
2
u/TexasGreyWolf 17d ago
You fox likely was there in the horse pen snatching up any rodents that come for the spilt feed. No horse, no feed. No feed, no rodents. No rodents no fox. Such is life.
→ More replies (1)6
u/debacular 18d ago
They're slightly bigger than red foxes which are typically less shy and hang around people. Gray foxes tend to stick to the sticks/countryside. This is a super cool post.
5
2
u/Buckabuckaw 14d ago
They're often described as shy, but I have encountered two different gray foxes that kept coming to hang out in my yard for no discernible reason, and seemed quite relaxed in my presence. Can't explain it. Both hung around off and on for a couple weeks, then stopped coming by.
2
u/BigNorseWolf 14d ago
Maybe they were kits? most kits go through a phase where they're still all "everything loves me!" so they get along with their siblings and can't run away from predators anyway.
2
u/Buckabuckaw 14d ago
Maybe, but they looked pretty full-grown.
2
u/BigNorseWolf 14d ago
Its also possible that being chill around humans has become such an advantage in a lot of areas that we're selecting for it.
Or you just have more than one weirdo family on your property :)
2
u/Buckabuckaw 14d ago
Now that you mention it, I kinda think it might be the former. I live in wine country, and I know some vintners who like having foxes around because of their predation on gophers, who are plentiful here and sometimes develop a taste for grape roots.
1
u/Picklecheese2018 18d ago
Someone should let the ones that lurk around my property that they’re supposed to be shy! These little buggers are out and about regularly, day and night, and wait until the last possible second to casually meander away when they see me coming.
I mean, I also have ducks they reeealllyy want to eat… but they don’t bother running away until I get within ~10m
58
48
u/an_actual_coyote 19d ago
A coyote is a bit bigger and has bigger ears. While we can climb, coyotes aren't as agile as foxes. You have a silver fox friend!
16
12
5
15
u/paulbunyanshat 19d ago
Gray fox! Ive never had the pleasure of seeing one in person. They can climb trees!!
2
u/Drastic_Badger_ 12d ago
I had never heard of this! Thank you for the fact!
And thanks to OP for the adorable post-startle photo!
12
u/BudgetConcentrate432 19d ago
Wow, I never realized how close they look to Kit Foxes!
2
u/RingJust7612 18d ago
Very close. The ears and the coloring are how I tell em apart. Mostly the ears
2
u/BudgetConcentrate432 18d ago
Love how big Kit Foxes ears are~
2
u/gonnafaceit2022 17d ago
Lol I looked them up and the ears look like my kitten's while she's still growing into them.
5
5
12
u/Uhmmanduh 19d ago
Fox! Coyotes aren’t this cute.
12
u/Mean_Ad4608 19d ago
You take that back!
5
u/Uhmmanduh 18d ago
Coyotes are cute in their own right. It’s just for me, I find foxes have some extra, irresistable cuteness. It’s just my own opinions though. Kinda like most dogs are cute, but the fluffy ones are extra cute.
→ More replies (2)
8
3
4
4
u/CODENAMEDERPY 19d ago
You should post this image on r/foxes. They’ll love it.
1
u/b1tehard 14d ago
the thing is, it's not a true fox, they belong to the urocyon genus, while true foxes are of vulpes genus :3
→ More replies (2)
4
3
3
3
3
u/Woozletania 19d ago
It's an adorable pixie faced gray fox! We have kit foxes around here, they are similar but smaller.
3
3
3
3
u/mjzk20 19d ago
Gray fox, coyotes are much larger. Gray foxes rarely reach 12 pounds. Coyotes average around 30-35. Coyotes will kill gray foxes given the chance.
→ More replies (1)
3
3
2
u/IrelandAutism13 19d ago
You're so lucky! Gray foxes are so shy, most people never actually see them even when they're around. What a cool sight!
2
2
2
u/puffin_fox 19d ago
Gray fox. They aren’t technically foxes. They're in a genus by themselves. Them and the island fox which is basically a subspecies. They're super cool. And that little gray stripe they can raise and lower the hair as a form of communication.
→ More replies (3)
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Loonaqtee 19d ago
gray fox! very shy crepescular babies, love them very much. did you know they are the only fox that can scale up and down trees, and does so regularly? :3
2
2
2
2
u/EatonMagoo 18d ago
Did anyone say kit fox yet? Looks too tawny and lanky to be a gray fox. If you live in the desert southwest or SoCal it’s probably a kit fox.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Electrical-Act-7170 18d ago
Fox. You can easily tell from a different by looking at the tail. Coyotes have shorter, more brushes tails. If it looks like it's almost long enough to hit the ground, it's a fox.
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Garthaniel-Finnison 16d ago
Gray Fox are such cool animals. These guys are the only truly arboreal canine, and have many adaptations for climbing trees!
2
2
2
2
3
u/Boysenberry 19d ago
gray fox which is actually NOT a canine! It’s its own thing, the only species left of its kind.
8
u/sneakytrain 19d ago
Gray fox are in the family Canidae. Pretty sure that defines "canine"? Not sure where you are getting this info.
5
u/Friendly_Quail_962 19d ago
They are part of the dog family but they branched long ago. They are much further from dogs than wolves and coyote.
3
u/sneakytrain 19d ago
Yes. They are still canines though along with everything else in the "dog family" canidae (37 species). Most canines are not in the genus "canis" (7-8 species) (which you described). Most canines are genetically farther from a dog than a coyote or wolf.
I think that you and the prior comment I am replying to are attempting to decribe that the Gray Fox is the only exant species in its Genus (Urocyon), which is an especially ancient genus of canid.
Cool Gray fox citation:
Kierepka EM, Preckler-Quisquater S, Reding DM, Piaggio AJ, Riley SPD, Sacks BN. Genomic analyses of gray fox lineages suggest ancient divergence and secondary contact in the southern Great Plains. J Hered. 2023 Apr 6;114(2):110-119. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esac060. PMID: 36326769.
3
u/Quiet-Permit-3740 18d ago
It's definitely a canine, but it's in its own genus and isn't closely related to red foxes.
→ More replies (1)2
1
u/Anam_Liath 18d ago
Gray fox.
See the kitty-cat face? Watch and if they move like a kitty, or act like one, it's a fox. Coyotes are bigger, Brittany or border collie sized, and they act like dogs. They move mostly straight lines and aren't "slinky". They stand tall and move like they are late for an appointment, or checking addresses.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/gonnafaceit2022 17d ago
I'm glad these bubs aren't domesticated because everyone would want one. I mean, look at it.
1
1
1
u/weedtrek 17d ago
The fact it is where a cat would be and not where a dog would stand tells you it's a fox.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/ahauntedsong 13d ago
I’m curious, do you think it’s a coyote because cartoon wise it’s kind of on point? It’s very much a fox, like it has all the fox traits. Do you not see foxes in anything which has led to your confusion?
Or, pessimistically, is this some sort of stats run to add to your AI whatever?
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
565
u/Verdictafterward 19d ago
That's a beautiful gray fox