I thought I'd put an article of dad's on here from the past about once a month. There were a lot of them. If y'all find them interesting, I'll keep doing it.
Red Fox - Gray Fox
by
Charles L. Dobbins
(This article was originally published in the November 1986 issue of The Trapper and Predator Caller)
FOX TRAPPING. This subject covers quite a bit of ground. In some areas of the country, the gray fox is not very common. In other areas, the gray fox is the predominant wild canine. Still in other areas, the trapper's total catch of foxes is half gray fox and half red fox.
In the largest percentages of sets the trapper makes for fox, the set location and the set itself is red fox orientated. Most reading material about fox methods is directed towards the red fox. For a trapper to take more gray fox, the trapper should put his sets at gray fox locations. All red fox sets will take the gray fox and most smells in the way of lure or bait that is attractive to the red fox will attract most (not all) gray fox. There are things a trapper can do to a set constructed for red fox that will make it more attractive to the gray fox.
There are differences between the gray fox and the red fox. The first thing that can be readily seen is that they are constructed differently in the physical sense of the word. The gray fox has smaller paws, shorter legs with a more fragile bone structure, and has small dark colored eyes. The guard hair of the gray fox is much coarser than that of the red fox. This coarser hair enables the gray fox to work the briars, weeds and other dense cover and not destroy the protective covering of guard hair. The color or rather the multi-coloring of the gray fox blends in well with the cover the animal uses.
In general, the gray fox prefers weed grown fields, brushy hill slopes, and stream bottoms that have a heavy growth of weeds, brush, downed timber, and vines. Areas that have been timbered off make good gray fox habitat after a couple of years. Sure, we all at some time or another have caught gray fox out in the wide open expanses of cropland or clean pastureland where the ideal gray fox habitat was quite some distance away. There could be several reasons for this, but the two most common reasons are the gray fox was traveling from one area to another and happened to cross this open area where a set was constructed. Another common reason the gray fox will be out in open type areas is because the red fox population is very low or nonexistent.
I can relate to several instances where I trapped for a few days to a couple of weeks and took mostly red fox out of a certain area. After a month or longer I went back to do mopping up operations and now the fox that I caught were mostly grays. Where were these gray fox when I was taking the reds? The gray fox were back in the heavier cover and as soon as the majority of the red fox were removed from the area the grays moved in.
It can be said the red fox and the gray fox do not get along very well together. The main reason being that both species are in com- petition for the available food supply of the area. It is well known that the red fox is quite an open terrain runner. Hardly any animal can equal it for its ground covering ability in the open. The gray fox, since it is constructed differently, can negotiate the tight places of weed choked fields, heavy brush and dense cover in general. Here it can outmaneuver dogs or most other predators - especially on a one-to-one basis, be it a dog or a coyote. However, when these predators gang up on the gray fox, it can be ambushed in this dense cover. Then again the gray fox will not hesitate to take refuge in any handy burrow, or it can and will go up a tree to escape its tormentors.
I can recall several times where the fox catch from a certain area was mostly red fox. In some instances it was eight to ten reds to one gray fox. The following season it was just the reverse. The red fox population had been lowered and the gray fox from the surrounding areas moved in on this prime red fox food producing area. It seems to me that whichever specie has the most numbers is the boss of that particular area.
Then there are things that happen with no rhyme or reason. Such as two traps set a few yards apart and in one trap is a red fox and in the other trap is a gray fox, even though these two sets were out in the wide open places of cropland and clean pasture land.
Then I've had just the opposite to happen. Two traps only yards apart in a somewhat confined brushy area and again have both a gray fox and a red fox side by side. There are always exceptions to the rule, especially on the trapline.
Actual sets for the gray fox or the red fox should differ somewhat. The difference in body construction of these two species of animals demands the trap placement to be different. Over the years I've found that the chances of missing a gray fox at a set constructed for a red fox is greater than missing a red fox at a gray fox set. I attribute this to the much smaller paw of the gray fox and sometimes it is the loss of interest at certain types of red fox sets. I have also found that the gray fox is more prone to be circle shy than the red fox. (I am not speaking about an individual fox, but foxes in general.)
I've learned that once I take a gray fox from a set it is best for me to remake the set, then add a new set a few yards away. Yes, I've taken up to six gray fox from the same set with the same trap, but this is more of a rarity than a routine thing. As a general rule, a set will take one and sometimes two gray fox and that particular set will "go dead" even though sign reading tells me there are still gray fox in the immediate area. Adding a NEW SET nearby puts renewed interest in the remaining gray fox.
I have accidentally taken more gray fox in sets made for raccoon and dry mink sets than I have accidentally caught red fox at these sets. This relates back to the type habitat the gray fox prefer. At some of my mink and raccoon sets there may be a lure or a bait that contains fish and the gray fox likes fish. This is not to mean that a red fox cannot be attracted to a fishy smell. As you can see these mink and raccoon sets are mostly made in the kind of habitat the gray fox prefers and that is the main reason I take more accidental gray fox than red fox.
As a general rule, location for gray fox is in or close to gray fox type habitat. A set with eye-appeal helps in gray fox cover. A large set pattern holds much eye-appeal for most gray foxes.
Sometimes disease will decimate the population of fox in a certain area such as mange will cut the red fox population down and soon this red fox range has a number of gray fox in it. Then just the opposite can hold true. The gray fox population of a certain area has been lowered by distemper and if this habitat is fairly open, then the red fox will move into it. It all relates back to the available food supply of the area plus whichever species has the most numbers for that area, then they are the boss.
