Gray foxes climb trees. They’re one of only two canid species to have mastered this useful skill, the other being the common raccoon dog, a native of East Asia.
Here in Austin, we often see foxes climbing in our backyard trees. They climb up with grace, speed, and great ease, but getting down is never quite so graceful or easy. Their claws point the right way for clinging to a tree trunk as they climb up and the wrong way for clinging as they descend, and they usually wind up almost running down and then jumping the final 6ft or so (a couple of meters, for our non-US viewers).
This great little clip shows Dolly, one of our favorite mama gray foxes, teaching her 3 big kits the correct foxy technique for climbing a live oak near the magic tree den. (The clip was recorded in 2024; this year – 2025 – Dolly has just one kit and she’s already a very proficient tree-climber.)
Martin Bludworth, our production associate, edited this clip and got it ready for Dan to narrate. He’s helping us to catch up with our publishing.
#texasbackyardwildlife