Camera 2 – 10/28/2019 – This is a photo of the female Grey Fox, Fluffy.
Camera 2 – 03/29/2019 – This a photo of the male Grey Fox, Walker.
Camera 2 – 10/2/2019 – A full body photo of the male, which shows the black strip running the complete length of the tail.
Below is a description of the size difference between the male and females from Wikipedia, which supports my assumption.
“There is little sexual dimorphism, save for the females being slightly smaller than males. The gray fox ranges from 76 to 112.5 cm (29.9 to 44.3 in) in total length. The tail measures 27.5 to 44.3 cm (10.8 to 17.4 in) of that length and its hind feet measure 100 to 150 mm (3.9 to 5.9 in). The gray fox typically weighs 3.6 to 7 kg (7.9 to 15.4 lb), though exceptions can weigh as much as 9 kg (20 lb).[2][3][4] It is readily differentiated from the red fox by the obvious lack of “black stockings” that stand out on the latter, a stripe of black hair that runs along the middle of its tail, and individual guard hairs being banded with white, gray, and black.[5] The gray fox displays white on the ears, throat, chest, belly and hind legs.[5] In contrast to all Vulpes and related (Arctic and fennec) foxes, the gray fox has oval (instead of slit-like) pupils.[6]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_fox
I believe that Walker and Fluffy are a mated pair, and the information below from Wikipedia supports that. I do not have any photos of babies/Kits yet.
“The gray fox is assumed monogamous. The breeding season of the gray fox varies geographically; the gray fox mates in early March, breeding peaks occur in February. The gestation period lasts approximately 53 days. Litter size ranges from 1 to 7, with a mean of 3.8 young per female. The sexual maturity of females is around 10 months of age. Kits begin to hunt with their parents at the age of 3 months. By the time that they are four months old, the kits will have developed their permanent dentition and can now easily forage on their own. The family group remains together until the autumn, when the young males reach sexual maturity, then they disperse.[9]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_fox
Cameras 1 & 4 – These photos are all of the male, Walker, hunting.
This morning to my delight, they both were outside hunting together. Fluffy and Walker looked at me and did not move. I feel honored that these animals feel safe on my property. Of course, dork that I am, I had to say, “hello,” and they took off rapidly. I had no idea that a fox could run so fast.
Note: I update the date and time on the field cameras regularly, but I have not corrected the Camera numbers. I list the correct camera number in the caption.
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