Gray foxes are skillful tree-climbers. We see our local gray foxes up in the trees all the time. The youngsters climb for fun, racing up and down the live oak trees when they get the zoomies; the adults climb for safety and convenience, and, well, maybe for fun, too. They seem to get a kick out of it.
Dan and I certainly get a kick out of occasionally seeing a fox sitting up on our roof watching us as we go about our business in the backyard.
Among canids, gray foxes’ climbing abilities are almost unique – the only other members of the canid family who can climb are Asian raccoon dogs. And luckily for the fox in this video, coyotes, like most of the rest of their dog-family cousins, can’t climb. So this fox, down at the water bowl and about to head off down the trail, hesitated when he heard unfamiliar footsteps in the dark and then shot up the tree to safety moments before a coyote appeared.
Thanks to our production associate, Martin Bludworth, for creating this great little video for us.
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