Animal sign
Fox tracks: small, neat prints in a straight line
Fox tracks are small, light and neat, and they often run in one perfectly straight line across a field of snow. Red and gray foxes live across most of the US.
How to tell it
- Small oval prints about 2 inches long, with four toes.
- Red fox: fur on the feet blurs the prints in winter, and a bar or chevron crosses the heel pad.
- Gray fox: rounder, sharper prints that can look almost cat-like, sometimes without claw marks.
- Trail in a straight line, each foot placed almost exactly in front of the last.
Where you find it
Red foxes live in most of the US, in farmland, field edges, woods and suburbs. Gray foxes favor brushy woods and rocky hills in the East, South and West.
Scientific name: Vulpes vulpes and Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Look-alikes
Larger, about 2.5 inches or more, with sharper pads in winter.
Rounder and splayed, with a wandering trail.
Round, with no claw marks and a three-lobed heel pad.
What it tells you
A fox trail shows where small animals live, because foxes hunt mice, voles and rabbits. In winter you can follow a fox line to see where it pounced into the snow after a mouse. Foxes can carry rabies, so never approach or feed one.
What to do
- Follow the trail with your eyes and look for pounce marks, scat on rocks or stumps, and den holes.
- Keep chickens and small pets closed in at night.
- Stay away from a fox that acts sick or unafraid, and report it to animal control.
The free app reads your photo, names the likely match, shows its look-alikes, and tells you what has been seen near your ZIP code.
Sources
Written in our own words from these public sources.