The red fox occurs throughout Alabama. Fur harvest records indicate red foxes occur in greater abundance in the northern half of the state. HABITAT: The red fox will utilize a variety of habitat types.
What kind of fox lives in Alabama?
Two species of fox occur in Alabama—the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). They are similar in size and can sometimes be difficult to distinguish. The red fox is the most common species of fox native to North America.
How big do foxes get in Alabama?
They’re about the weight of a house cat (10–12 lbs.). They don’t often attack dogs or people (unless the fox is rabid). These are relatively small predators which usually hunt mice. Pups that are alone during the day have not necessarily been abandoned.
Are foxes protected in Alabama?
Foxes are listed as furbearers and a game animal in Alabama and most other states. Most states allow for the taking of foxes to protect private property. Alabama allows regulated hunting and trapping as well as removal of nuisance animals through a permit process.
Are there white foxes in Alabama?
Few are lucky enough to spot a white fox in the wild here in the Southern U.S., but it does happen! I had the privilege of seeing one of these rare beauties in Northeast Alabama in 2008. Contrary to popular belief, a white fox in the Southern U.S. is not necessarily an escaped pet or an introduced exotic species.
Do wolves exist in Alabama?
Present day red wolf populations exist in captivity with the exception of a reintroduction to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. The red wolf was extirpated from Alabama in the early 1920s.
Are there wolves in Alabama?
Four of these native species have become extirpated within the state, including the American bison (Bison bison), cougar (Puma concolor), gray wolf (Canis lupus), and the elk (Cervus canadensis).
Will a fox bite you?
Do foxes attack humans? Foxes are not dangerous and do not attack humans, except when they are rabid, which is very rare, or when they are captured and handled. Even then, a fox’s natural tendency is to flee rather than fight.
Where do foxes live in Alabama?
They are found throughout the entire state of Alabama. HABITAT: Preferred gray fox habitat includes thick brush, wooded lowlands and swamps. Gray fox populations rarely thrive in more open habitat types commonly associated with their close relative, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).
What big cats are wild in Alabama?
Alabama has two native cats. The first and largest is the mountain lion, also called a cougar, catamount, painter, puma or panther. Cougars are tawny brown to grayish in color, weighing from 75 to 120 pounds, and can reach a length of about 6½ feet, nose to tail.
What to do if a fox is in your yard?
If you see a fox in your yard, use several motion-activated water sprinklers and place them in fox prone areas such as under a deck or near a garden. The sprinkler will spray the fox every time it enters the area, which will deter the animal.
Can I shoot a fox on my land?
Foxes are classed as wild animals, not pests, and the Council has no statutory powers or legal rights to eradicate foxes on private or other land.
What to do if you find a fox?
In most cases, it’s best to leave them alone, but sometimes it may be necessary to intervene. Only touch the fox cub if necessary and, if you need to, do so as little as possible to keep them wild.
What does an Alabama fox look like?
The red fox is generally a reddish color with a white underbelly, chin and throat. It has a long, black, bushy tail with a white tip. The backs of their ears, lower legs and feet are also black. The majority of red foxes are reddish however, different color phases do occur.
What predators live in Alabama?
Alabama’s predators include the bobcat, coyote, red fox, and gray fox. Its coastal waters are home to sharks, strange fish like the Clymene dolphin (Stenella clymene) and common marine mammals like the killer whale and California sea lion.
Are wild foxes aggressive?
Foxes are wild animals, but they are not typically aggressive or dangerous. Fox attacks do happen, but they are notably rare and often only minor bites. Foxes are significantly smaller than both wolves and coyotes.
Do mountain lions exist in Alabama?
State officials say there is no self-sustaining wild population of mountain lions in Alabama. Cougars are most common in the western United States with the populations closest to Alabama in West Texas and Florida, where they are listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Does Alabama have cougars?
Cougars probably were extirpated from Alabama in the mid-1800s. Occasional sightings suggest free-ranging pumas, of unknown origin, occasionally may be present in Alabama, but there is no self-sustaining population currently known.
Are there Jaguars in Alabama?
There are no black panthers, not in Alabama or anywhere else in North America. Frank Allen, area biologist for Martin-Skyline WMA in northeast Alabama says the only black big cats are melanistic leopards in Africa and Asia, and rarely a Central American jaguar.
Does Alabama have wild bears?
Background. Black bears (Ursus americanus) are historically native throughout the entire state of Alabama (Cowan 1970, Edwards 2002, Scheick and McCown 2014).
Does Alabama have crocodiles?
While Alabama is home to the infamous, at times terrifying, American alligator, crocodiles are completely absent. Both alligators and crocodiles are ‘crocodilians,’ thanks to their shared Order, Crocodilia. However, the largest crocodilians in the world, the Nile and saltwater crocodile, are not found in Alabama.