Photographed by Bette Jackson



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Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. The gray fox is a salt and pepper gray animal with red on the back of its ears, around its neck, its legs and at the edges of its belly. The extent of red varies, but the gray fox always has a dark tip to its tail. The gray fox is leaner and lankier than the red fox. It's also more cat-like in its behavior. Gray foxes can be found in a diversity of habitats, but are more often found in forested areas. They're the foxes usually found in Florida swamp lands. The gray fox in an adept climber, climbing for a meal or to escape its adversaries. During the day it may sleep draped across a large tree limb. Occasionally, gray foxes will raise their pups well above ground in a large tree cavity, but other times they raise their young in burrows or in hollow logs on the ground. The gray fox is an opportunist when it comes to dinner, but rabbits and mice dominate their menu. In fall, a gray fox will eat an abundance of grasshoppers, crickets, fruit, and nuts. Although mostly an animal of the south, the gray fox has recently expanded its range northward into New England and Michigan, perhaps a result of habitat changes, increased food supplies, and a changing climate.

'With the Wild Things' is produced at the Whitaker Center in the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University. For 'The Wild Things', I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson.