Reynard of the Gray Cloak 
He Is on the ‘Black List,’? Yet He Thrives, and in Ever-Increasing Numbers 
Raises Havoc in Our Game Covers 
FW ee HE gray fox is one 
Fe AMUN, Bee S I of the few wild ani- 
mals peculiar to 
North America with 
the wit and courage 
to extend its do- 
main and increase 
its numbers in spite 
of rural develop- 
ment and the rapid- 
ly increasing popu- 
lation of the country. 
This is due to a number of things, 
first among which is the remarkable 
sagacity and natural cunning of the 
little gray animal, together with a 
bountiful man-made increase in its 
food supply and greatly aug- 
mented natural cover. 
The ebb and flow of all wild 
life is but a record of feast and 
famine. 
And is not man good to the 
little gray fox? He has cut 
down the trees and made mil- 
lions of acres of thickets and 
brush lots—ideal cover! He 
brought along rats and mice 
which have lately taken to sum- 
mering in the fields. He raises 
delicious poultry in backyard 
and farmstead, and stocks the 
hedgerows with pheasants. He 
plants orchards and berry 
patches, for the gray fox is 
very fond of fruit. And there are al- 
ways rich pickings from his kitchen 
refuse. 
And so, each year, as the food sup- 
ply increased, this fox multiplied and 
spread throughout the land to regions 
where the shadowy gray figure had 
never been seen before. Time was 
when local hunters north of the Penn- 
sylvania line called these northern 
stragglers “southern grays.” It is all 
one now, for the gray fox has become 
common in almost every state in the 
Union. 
The gray fox family is a large one, 
ranging from the Canadian border on 
the north down through Mexico to 
Colombia on the south and extending 
westward from the Atlantic to Cali- 
fornia and Oregon. Hot desert, fetid 
tropic, northern blizzard—it is equally 
at home. No matter where it finds it- 
self, the gray fox readily adapts itself 
to its new environment. It is equally 
content in a boggy swamp or the semi- 
arid regions of Lower California. 

i CA Z RENE ESS 
ty = SSS 
By DON CAMERON SHAFER 
Old natural historians will tell you 
that the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoar- 
genteus) once ranged no farther north 
than lower New York and Long Island. 
Now these foxes may be found through- 
out the state and into Vermont and 
New Hampshire. 
Combining, as it does, all the cun- 
ing of the red fox, with the stealth and 
cleverness of the cat family, Gray Fox 
lives happily and safely at the very 
edge of civilization, even in the out- 
skirts of cities, and screams defiance 
under the very windows of farmhouses 
at night. 
It is but natural that such a large 
family, sprinkled all over North Amer- 
UII. TTT 
Combining to an uncanny degree vulpine 
sagacity and feline craftiness, the gray fox 
is a versatile and relentless game enemy. 
He is trap wise and will, in the majority of 
cases, foil the best trained pack of hounds— 
but with persistent effort he may be run to 
earth, and this effort on the part of sports- 
men is much needed during the coming year. 
IIIT 
ica, should appear in a great variety 
of coloration and sizes, or many family 
groups, nearly alike in general appear- 
ance but varying a lot in size and 
habits. The gray fox attains its larg- 
est size and greatest beauty in the 
New England states and eastern New 
York. This fox is larger than the red 
fox, longer legged, bigger bodied and 
more powerful. Its coat is a beautiful 
combination of frosty gray, black, 
white and red. It is black about the 
feet, the end of the tail and extending 
up over the back to the ears and nose. 
It is white beneath, especially under 
the throat and about the nose tip. 
Often it has a red ruff nearly around 
the neck and reddish trimming on the 
upper legs, lower sides'and the under- 
part of the tail. It is truly a beautiful 
little animal, and just why its fur is 
not more in demand, when all other 
foxskins are so valuable, is unanswer- 
able. 
But the very fact that its handsome 
gray coat is not in style has been the 
gift of life to Gray Fox. The rough 
skin is worth only about $1.50, which 
is about the same as for a good musk- 
rat skin only a fraction of its size; 
only one-tenth of the price for a good 
red fox pelt in the raw. 
It isn’t because their skins are plen- 
tiful;. they are not. It is harder to 
take the skin away from a gray fox 
than it is from a red one— much 
harder! And as for trapping him, it 
is easier to catch a mink. 
True, dogs will run them. Hunters, 
who will shoot at anything, will not 
hesitate to pop them over. when they 
can, which isn’t very often. But Gray 
Fox does not run well to the dogs. 
He is forever popping into 
holes, into rock crevices, hollow 
trees, under old barns, even 
up into tree branches twenty 
and thirty feet above the 
ground. And because the skin 
is worth so little, the disgusted 
hunter will not stop to dig him 
out or bother to ‘set traps, 
which are usually ineffective, 
far from home. It is no joke to 
walk eight miles just to look at 
an empty fox trap. 
In both habits and natural 
cunning, the gray fox seems to 
be about midway between the 
true foxes and the cats. It is 
far more cunning and tricky 
than the red fox, which is saying a 
good deal, at least in this locality. It 
is almost wholly nocturnal in habits, 
bold and clever in the gray of dusk 
or the soft glow of moonlight nights. 
It really has no fear of man. It 
knows enough to avoid him as an 
enemy by day, but readily visits his 
dooryard at night. I have seen it flash 
across my auto lights in village streets 
at night. It is far more destructive 
than the red fox. It is a tireless 
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