Description – A medium sized fox with grayish colored fur above, short reddish- brown legs and tawny sides. It has a long bushy gray tail with a black stripe down its entire length. Head and body 53 – 74 cm (21 - 29 in.): tail 28 – 41 cm (11 – 16 in.): wt. 3.2 –5.8 kg (7 – 13lb.)

Distribution in Texas – Statewide

Habitat – Gray Foxes are extremely secretive with excellent senses of sight, hearing and smell, sometimes making them very difficult to locate. Chiefly nocturnal it inhabits wooded areas preferring mixed hardwood forests. This fox is will climb trees to avoid detection and to escape predators. Dens are built under tree roots, boulders or brush piles, they have been known to build a den several meters above the ground in an old tree.

The Gray Fox is omnivorous, its diet varies with season and availability. It feeds mainly on rabbits, rodents and birds, but supplements its diet with insects, eggs, fruits and acorns.

Gray Foxes are social animals, normally living in a group with an adult male and female and several juveniles. They will use "scent posts" to mark their territory and travel routes by leaving scat or urine on or next to prominent features.

Breeding season for the Gray Fox in Texas starts in December and continues until March. Normally litters of 3 – 6 pups are born April or May. Life span in the wild is between 6 – 10 years.

With the elimination of the Coyotes in certain areas this has allowed for an increase in the Gray Fox population. The Gray Fox is one of the most important fur-bearing animals in Texas.