Saw a gray fox in my yard last night, in the middle of suburbia

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HOOfan_1

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I've seen plenty of red fox in the wild all over Virginia. My dad said until about 15 years ago he had never seen a red fox but had seen bunches of gray fox. I however had never seen one in the wild, although I have seen coyotes.

It seems strange that the first time I see a gray fox in the wild, it was in my own yard in the middle of the suburbs. There are a couple of swampy creeks within 600 yards of my house, but my house is still smack dab in a non-wooded neighborhood. We have the occasional opossum come up into our yard, possibly raccoons too, but I have never seen a raccoon.

The fox came out of some bushes around my house at 10:30 last night and was within 15 yards of me and just stood and stared at me for about 10 seconds before he jogged off, he didn't even run off, just jogged.

I actually couldn't see him that well, but I could tell it was non-domestic canine and it was grayish in color. I am pretty sure it was too small to be a coyote...it was maybe 1.5 times the size of a house cat.
 
ronto said:
It was HIS backyard long before it was yours.
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Considering the life span of a fox is 4-6 years and I have lived in this house for 32 years....I doubt it.

I am quite aware that this land was wilderness 50 years ago, that doesn't make it any less amazing to spot a rather elusive creature in the middle of a neighborhood.

Not sure what the point of your platitude is...I was not complaining about its presence, in fact I would like to see it again.
 
I have seen fox and coyote in most large cities of Texas. In suburban areas, I consider the feral dog, whether it has a collar on or not, a much greater problem to livestock than the coyote.

I think the feral cat damages as much wildlife as any true predatory natural species.

The proper answer to the feral cant and dog problem will be to start punishing those who release then or feed them without taking proper care in controlling their predatory actions and population.

Ron
 
I work nights and spend most of my time in a car. I see more foxes and coyotes in residential/business areas, than out in the rural parts.
 
I live in a fully-developed suburb just west of Austin, TX, and have seen gray foxes quite often - one morning while getting the newspaper before dawn, a pair of foxes, about to cross my front lawn, saw me, stopped, and began screaming at me. :cool:

Another time when I had a live trap from the local PD trying to catch nuisance skunks & armadillos I caught a fox in it. (Let it go.)

On other occasions I've seen coyotes, wild turkey, raccoon, LOTS of urban deer, cacomistle, possums, skunk, road runner, armadillo, squirrels, etc. Some are pests, others are just . . . there. Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing a few more coyotes, as they have a reputation for keeping down the cat population.

If you keep your eyes open, there's more wildlife around than most people realize.
 
Animals in the (now) city always makes me think of the photo my father took in his back yard a few miles east of north dalla toll road.

bob.jpg

Get into their land and they will get used to you, untill someone wants them "relocated".
 
Now THAT is an elusive animal...saw one for the first time in the wild this year in the middle of the day running across a heavily wooded farm road.

I've been seeing cottontail rabbits galore in my neighborhood this year, maybe that explains the presence of the fox.
 
A gray fox used to be a regular visitor to my back yard - haven't seen him in a while.

I have motion detector spotlights on each end of the back of the house - when I'm in bed, you never know what will set 'em off between 2 and 4am.
I keep a Streamlight by my kitchen and bedroom windows to spotlight whatever's out there - first time I saw the fox, I'm guessing he came in through my open gate next to my bedroom - when I hung my head out the window, made a run for it at the other end of my house, but the gate on that end stays closed. Guess in his panic he didn't see it was closed, or either the spotlights blinded him, but I heard him hit the fence head first at full speed - made my head hurt listening to the impact.

I live in a heavily residential section, but I've seen up to seven deer lying around in the back yard - I notice they often position themselves where they can see my bedroom TV through the window - guess they haven't figured out what it is, and want to keep an eye on it?

I usually toss an apple out the window every night, and when they come by, I'll section an apple or two and feed 'em, plus I keep a couple of those big jugs of horse treats (apple and carrot) for 'em (they don't care for peppermint).
I've had a few over the years come within about a foot of hand feeding as I was hanging out the kitchen window, but they've never gotten quite brave enough to take it from my hand.

Some of 'em have associated the Streamlights with food - if I see a pair or two of eyes in the neighbor's yard, as soon as they see the light, they'll come a' trottin' to the window for food!
 
Foxes are arguaby some of the coolest looking animals out there. Sadly here in OR we mostly have Coyotes. I like the way those look, too, but Foxes seem a bit more friendly.
 
Foxes, like many other wild animals, have learned that man=food. Between garbage, domestic cats and birds/mice/squirrels/rabbits attracted to outdoor bird feeders, a human's back yard is a bonanza. Since hunting is generally illegal in urban situations, the animals are safer than roaming in the woods. Kinda a win/win for the fox.
 
Where I hunt at most squirrels you see are grays. We have a flying squirrel for a pet. He is very friendly and lovable. He will sleep in your shirt pocket for hours. If he is out at night when he gets hyper he will run all over but every couple of minutes he will jump in your lap or on your chest and sniff your nose.
 
Most suburban fox and coyotes can live right under your nose for years. The suburban predators don't run at the sight of humans. There was a reason he was in open. Food, Water, a pretty female fox nearby...

Flying squirrels make great pets. Let your friends pet him at every chance. If you keep him for a couple years squirrels do get over protective.
 
I live in the middle of a small city, but have a small creek in the back yard dividing my property from the ones across the creek. We have rabbits, coons, possum, snakes, rats, and squirrels (little fat ones at that) in my back yard all the time. We have two big ole oaks that drop acorns in abundance keeping the squirels fat and happy..... of course till one of the neighborhood cats comes by and cleans up.
 
Fox, like their wily cousin the coyote, are right at home in the heart of suburbia. I'd wager that you've had them around far longer then you might care to speculate, only up until now, you've not happened upon them.
 
Foxes are arguaby some of the coolest looking animals out there. Sadly here in OR we mostly have Coyotes.
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There are very few foxes in OK and we are overrun with coyotes. i call 40-50 coyotes per year: Have not had a fox respond to a predator call in a couple of years. i never shoot foxes.
 
meaning disrespect to no man, and just my opinion: leave wild animals alone whenever possible. i don't mean this in either a 'disney's pocahantas' way, or a 'look out, they have rabies' way... just that nature does not need your involvement. as a matter of general principle, i don't shoot or trap animals if i don't need to, and don't offer them food unless there's a point to it... usually shooting them. :neener:
i live in a semi-suburban area where feeding the deer encourages their encroachment into populated areas at night, creating diturbances and leading to an increased risk of deer/ vehicle strikes. the elderly couples up the road that feed the things don't seem to realize that they are increasing the odds of one being hit by a truck w/in a quarter mile of their house, or being chased by dogs, etc. habituated wild animals are the flip side to feral house pets. the one's as big a problem as the other.
 
Kit foxes

I was in Midwest City (part of the Oklahoma City Metro complex) about a year ago and my headlights picked up 3 fox pups sitting and watching the traffic go by. I turned around and came back by the site to make sure I saw what I saw and pointed them out the the wife. Oklahoma City area has some wild undeveloped areas scattered all thru this town. One friend sold his 10 acres he had close to where the foxes were seen. He was constantly telling people "No you cannot hunt the deer that are on this property". There was enough undeveloped property around his that it supported a very small deer herd of about 6 deer. And this just about about 6 or 7 miles from down town Oklahoma City.

I heard a story that some poachers got a heck of a surprise on the north side of the OKC airport several years back. They climbed a fence in the middle of the night to pick up some easy deer meat. When a tactical team stood up out of the grass several minutes later with fully automatic weapons they nearly died of fright. It seems the area they invaded is some sort of customs storage area and stepping on the property uninvited in the middle of the night is bad manners.
 
Around here foxes are pretty common and they are beautiful creatures. They are also the most likely animal around to carry rabies and I have had two friends that had to go through the shots because they were attacked by a fox in their yard. Same fox bit one, ran away, came back and bit the other and then was shot as he ran away again. Confirmed to be rabid.
 
I'm literally less than 2 miles from the center of my little town, but we have a huge wooded area behind the house.

On a regular basis, my dog Roscoe and I surprise rabbits, deer, possum, and once a very big bobcat surprised us on one of our regular walks.

We have a small herd of six deer that feed out in the open at all times of the day and night regardless of season or temperature.
 
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