While on a late season deer hunt here in California, I saw what I thaught to be a silver fox. Having only experience w/ coyotes, and red fox's, I am not sure if this is truly what I saw. What are some of their identifying characteristics? And do we even have them here in California? Hunting in the Sierra's at about 5,800ft. elevation. Do these type of animals stay pretty much in the same area? If so, getting that little guy might help me feel a little better about loosing the nice 4X4 that got away from me in there!
What was THAT?
- Thread starter ds2
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BadMedicine
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John is right, anywhere you find redfoxes, there's a MINUTE possibuility that you could find a silver fox, or any of the other variations(cross fox, blue fox, black fox, etc.). The variations, oddly enough, are far more common the further north you go, and also in controlled gene-pools, such as on islands, or whatever. Even in areas where silver fox are *common* they represent only about 1 in 100 fox. I was lucky enough to bag one, the winter before last..and I found out where one lives this fall. They're just like other red-fox, they have a certain range, and you could (theoretically,...I probably couldn't
)be able to find him there again. John is also right about how far you can see the silver. It's just white/grey tipped hairs up close, from very far away it looks all black...so I would say if he was very far away it MIGHT have been a grey fox. (grey fox are NOT a red-fox color variation..different species) Do you have grey fox in your area? I would guess it would be more likely, even if you don't normally, for one to have travelled or wandered there, than for it to be a real silverfox. Go bag him and let us know
Goodluck...for your sake, I hope it is a silver fox. It's one of my prized furs!!
Hey thanxs for responsing guys!! I saw him from about 50yrds. Originally I thaught it to be the north end of a south-bound dear, as it its coloring was mostly black. I put the bino's on him and watched him mill around a little bit. The hair looked mostly black w/ silver tips. Really good looking animal! Will try to get him, as I know where he lives! Thanks for the help. Hopefully I can follow-up w/ some pics if I can ever figure out the picture thing. ds2
BadMedicine
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did it have a white tip tail?? 99.5% of red fox (ie, or any otehr variation) have a white tipped tail. Good luck on him.
Pete in Idaho
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The most common fox in Calif. is the grey fox. Grey with some red russet on his sides or belly and a black strip down his back on out the length of his tail. The Sierra's are full of them. To me he is less leggy and more compact looking then the reds.
Just in the last two or three years reds have moved into the valley around Lewiston,Ida. Prior to that the closest they were found was 200 miles away in S.Ida.
I have yet to put one in the bag. Pete
Just in the last two or three years reds have moved into the valley around Lewiston,Ida. Prior to that the closest they were found was 200 miles away in S.Ida.
I have yet to put one in the bag. Pete
I don't remember anything about his tail as I was looking at the coloring on his body. I did note that he was very small. Not quite as small as a kit fox but small for what I remember fox's to be.
Big Jerk, I saw him on my G6 hunt(Dec 1-9 Kern River hunt). He was up near Johnsondale. That narrows it down to about 50sq. miles for ya.
Big Jerk, I saw him on my G6 hunt(Dec 1-9 Kern River hunt). He was up near Johnsondale. That narrows it down to about 50sq. miles for ya.
BadMedicine
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ds2, that tells me everything. small tail=NOT a red fox, and therefor, not a silver. red fox have HUGE fluffy tails that look almost as big as their body. It was probably a grey. UNLESS the silver (red) had mange and his tail was eaten up... a healthy fox tail should be huge!
Here's a pic of a grey fox...notice it looks speckled black/silver look? I'd bet this is what it is.
Grey fox, on average are just a couple, as in 2pounds larger, but could've been that years pup, so a little smaller. Grey fox have a fairly fluffy tail, bigger than the kit fox, but still smaller than the red..and the red would've had a bright white tip.
If you take a 10 lb red, and a 10 lb grey, and put them side by side, the red will look bigger. The reason is because red fox are all fluff, their hair gets really long and fluffy making an average one look about 20lbs, though they rarely go 13. Grey fox live more in the (relative)south and have a thinner fur that lays down more, so most the bulk you see on them is actually body. This may be anotehr reason it looked smaller than reds you've seen.
[This message has been edited by BadMedicine (edited 12-17-2001).]
Here's a pic of a grey fox...notice it looks speckled black/silver look? I'd bet this is what it is.
Grey fox, on average are just a couple, as in 2pounds larger, but could've been that years pup, so a little smaller. Grey fox have a fairly fluffy tail, bigger than the kit fox, but still smaller than the red..and the red would've had a bright white tip.
If you take a 10 lb red, and a 10 lb grey, and put them side by side, the red will look bigger. The reason is because red fox are all fluff, their hair gets really long and fluffy making an average one look about 20lbs, though they rarely go 13. Grey fox live more in the (relative)south and have a thinner fur that lays down more, so most the bulk you see on them is actually body. This may be anotehr reason it looked smaller than reds you've seen.
[This message has been edited by BadMedicine (edited 12-17-2001).]
Thanks Bad Medicine for the info. If you took the red mane off of that little guy, it would look very much like what I was looking at. Guess I'll have to go get him to make a positive ID. Hopefully California hasn't made some new laws about the taking of grey fox's! If so, I would end up looking as stupid as the guy from TN, who shot the elk and thaught it to be a HUGE deer!