140 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 66 



Figure 46. — Distribution of Urocyon cinereoargenteus cinereoargenteus. 



speed and would perhaps have difficulty surviving in wide open areas. 

 On the other h and, it is quite at home in the trees, being more arboreal 

 than the red fox. For protection, it depends to some extent on rocky 

 or brushy cover to which it can retreat, or forests where it can quickly 

 climb a tree to escape a predator. Of 60 gray foxes trapped at the 

 Patuxent Research Center, Prince Georges County, in the 1940's, the 

 majority were taken in hedgerows and margins habitat, and most of 

 the others in bottomland forests (Uhler and Llewellyn, 1952, p. 84). 



This species selects a hollow^ tree or log for a den ; occasionally it 

 may use a burrow in the ground. It breeds but once a year, usually in 

 February. Young are born from March to May and may number from 

 two to seven, with the average being four. Both parents take part in 

 caring for the young. 



The food of the gray fox varies from season to season. Studies at 

 the Patuxent Research Center (Llewellyn and Uhler, 1962, p. 199) 

 indicate that in late fall and early winter approximately 30 percent of 

 the gray fox's food is plant material, while about 70 percent is animal. 

 Of the plant food consumed, persimmon was the most important item, 

 while corn, pear, apple, and beechnut were also taken. Rodents were by 

 far the most important animal food, but rabbits, birds, and insects were 

 also consumed. Hamilton (1943, p. 177) lists rabbits as the most 

 important food for the species. He also lists birds, small mammals, 



