Difference between Fox and Coyote sign

F

Fishbonker

New member
I have seen a red fox litterally in my back yard this spring. I've been watching what I thought were coyote tracks and scat all winter. Are there any big diferneces between the two? This fox is huge. I've never seen one so big. Even though I've only seen a couple of fox in the wild and lots of harvest pictures, this guy is bigger than any of them. First time I saw it I thought it was a dog with a very bushy tail. In the subsequent sightings I'm positive its a red fox. The tracks I've been seing are what I would call Coyote, smaller than dogs with only two toenails making impressions. The scat is full of hair and small bits of bone about 1/2-3/4 inches in diameter with "turds" that are hooked together. Each time I've seen him he has been headed for the neighbors place, an abandened acreage with falling down buildings and lots of old cars. Any chance he has taken up living in one of the buildings/cars?

Should fox and coyote be capitalized? I've done it both ways in this post.

Thanks for any help with either predators or english.

The 'Bonker
 
Fishbonker,
Probably just a large fox. Until you' ve killed a few and held them in your hands, they all look "big" from a distance. What you are describing is typical fox sign. Also, coyotes are not as prone to be frequenting so close to civilization as fox will. Animals will occupy whatever niche is available to them. With lots of coyotes around, the only place most fox can survive is close to civilization as coyotes will readily kill them at every opportunity.

As for names, only proper names of animals are capitalized, ie. Swainsons hawk, Bachmans warbler etc. Scientific names are different, Vulpes vulpes is the name for red fox. The genus Vulpes is capitalized and the species name vulpes is never capitalized.

Hope this helps. May be too much info but it’s always a good day to learn something new.

Mike /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Mike,
Thanks for the info, now lets see, I before E except after dinner? I do have lots of coyotes in the area. I can't remember if I put this in a previous post or not but on almost any night I can hear two different groups howling. At least I assmue its two different groups. I suppose they could just be spread out. How far will a howl travel? I know there are tons of variables which makes the question unanswerable, but on the average, one mile? Two miles? Back to the size of the fox, I could have sworn the deer I took with a bow this year was a large doe when I shot it about 10 yards from my stand. Turns out it was a very small button buck, looks can be very deciving, 'specially when your excited and I have been pretty excited when I have seen the fox.

Thanks again for the great info.

The 'Bonker
 
Seldom Ever,

I love that movie and some of it’s classic lines. The Chief makes a good point. Coyote hunting is like that sometimes. One must endevour to persevere sometimes just to see one much less kill any. Good trivia catch!

Fishbonker,
Howls go a long way. I’ve heard them from 3 miles or so, but that’s here in Montana. The “big sky” country. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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