Description
Slightly smaller than the red fox. Basically gray in color, it has reddish or rusty areas under the throat, on the sides of the neck and on the legs. The amount of red varies, often causing this fox to be mistaken for a red fox. Gray foxes can be identified by the black-tipped tail while the red fox is identified by a white tail tip.

Average Size
The gray fox stands about 15 inches at the shoulder and weighs 7 to 10 lbs.

Life Expectancy
The oldest recorded gray fox in South Carolina was 9 years old.

Preferred Habitat
The gray fox is considered a woodland inhabitant. While it benefits from an interspersion of forests and fields, it can also be found in fully timbered areas. In mixed areas of open land and woods, gray foxes’ ranges may overlap those of red foxes. Unlike the red fox, the gray is able to climb trees and does so occasionally to escape predators and hunting dogs. The gray fox’s ability to climb and its adaptation to completely forested areas may explain why they have not been displaced by coyotes, as red foxes have in some areas.