Don’t Fear Your Neighborhood Gray Fox (Unless You’re a Chicken)

Each month, we get to know one of the state’s many wonderful and quirky critters. Latin Name: Urocyon cinereoargenteusSize: About 30 to 44 inches long and 8 to 15 poundsHabitat: Statewide Even if you’ve never seen a gray fox, chances are you’ve heard one. You may have mistaken its harsh, guttural call for the caw of a crow or some other noisy bird, says John Tomeček, a carnivore ecologist and associate professor at Texas A&M University. “Foxes make these squeaky, squawky vocalizations,” he says, especially after dark, when the nocturnal creature is on the prowl. “If you live in an urban or suburban area in Texas—once you’ve googled that sound, you’re going to hear it.” By far the most common of the state’s four fox species, grays…

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