Alabama’s gray fox record, 290 occurrences scattered across 52 counties, connects the coastal-plain woods of Conecuh National Forest with the rugged north of the state at Little River Canyon National Preserve, DeSoto State Park, and Bankhead National Forest.
The fox that climbs
The gray fox is the only North American canid that routinely climbs trees, gripping trunks with stout curved claws and rotating forearms to scramble up leaning bark or out along limbs. It uses that trick to rest above danger, to forage on fruit in the canopy, and to den in hollow trees when one is available. Brushy woodland, rocky slopes, and tangled edges suit it, and it eats about what the thicket offers: rabbits, mice, insects, persimmons, and other soft fruit in season.
Flat months with a February pulse
Counts run almost level through the year, with a modest February crest that matches the late-winter breeding season, when pairs travel together and range more widely than usual. Because the fox works mostly at night and keeps to dense cover, many records come from tracks, trail cameras, or road crossings rather than a long look at the animal itself.
Status in Alabama
NatureServe ranks the gray fox S5, Secure, in Alabama, and the species is native to the state. USGS NAS does not list it as nonindigenous here.
Full species profile
