Kentucky mammals

Gray Fox in Kentucky

Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Native to Kentucky S4 Apparently Secure in Kentucky

Not listed as nonindigenous in Kentucky by USGS NAS; native to its Kentucky range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Gray fox standing in dappled woodlandUrocyon cinereoargenteus grayFox cameoUrocyon cinereoargenteusUrocyon cinereoargenteus in brushwoodUrocyon cinereoargenteus scottii
Photo: Adam Jackson · CC0Gray fox standing in dappled woodlandPhoto: Dcrjsr · CC BY 3.0Urocyon cinereoargenteus grayFox cameoPhoto: Gary M. Stolz, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domainUrocyon cinereoargenteusPhoto: Dave Schaffer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domainUrocyon cinereoargenteus in brushwoodPhoto: Alejandro Gómez Nísino · CC BY-SA 4.0Urocyon cinereoargenteus scottii

Gray Fox in Kentucky, by the numbers

Occasional in Kentucky 45th most recorded of 77 mammals logged in Kentucky

24 occurrence records
22 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Gray Fox in Kentucky

Most sightings fall in May.

24 Kentucky occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Kentucky records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February2
March1
April1
May4
June2
July3
August2
September4
October1
November0
December3

Monthly gray fox occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Kentucky, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Kentucky, with recorded sightings peaking in May, with a smaller rise in July and September.

Occurrence map

Where Gray Fox has been recorded in Kentucky

24 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

24 Kentucky records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Land Between the Lakes Other 4
Daniel Boone National Forest 1

Protected places with the most gray fox sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Kentucky

CountyRecords
Trigg County 4
Casey County 3
Bullitt County 2
Knox County 2
Franklin County 2
Marshall County 1
Powell County 1
Wolfe County 1
Calloway County 1
Lee County 1
Shelby County 1
McCracken County 1
4 other counties 4

The complete county distribution, spread across 16 Kentucky counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Gray fox records in Kentucky reach from Daniel Boone National Forest in the east to Land Between the Lakes in the west, a spread that favors the mixed, brushy forest this fox uses for both hunting and, unlike red foxes, climbing trees to escape danger.

Reports rise in May and September, though with only 20 total records, all from GBIF rather than photographs, that two-point pattern is thin. NatureServe ranks the species S4, Apparently Secure, in Kentucky despite the sparse record.

Occurrence data from GBIF.

Gray Fox in other states

View all states →

Gray fox standing in dappled woodland
Full species profile Gray Fox Urocyon cinereoargenteus Size 0.8–1.1 m2.5–3.7 ft Weight 3–9 kg6.6–19.8 lb Lifespan 6–8 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Kentucky in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"