Sierra Nevada Red Fox Facts | Yosemite Wildlife Guide

The Sierra Nevada red fox is another local subspecies that was nearly wiped out in Yosemite National Park. In fact, there were no confirmed sightings between 1916 and 2014.

The taxonomy of North American red foxes is a tangled web. Most populations across the continent descended from imported European red foxes, which interbred with native subspecies and then expanded to other areas. In the western mountain states, there are also three separate high-elevation subspecies.

While they can range from deep red in color, to grizzled grey or an extremely light yellow, there are a few characteristics that can help identify red foxes regardless of their color phase. Look for the black “socks” on their legs, white cheek patches and a white tip on the end of their bushy tail. The nose is more pointed than that of a coyote, and they are significantly smaller, only weighing 8 to 15 pounds.

HABITAT & FEEDING HABITS

Red foxes become easily accustomed to human presence. They can be found living in suburban neighborhoods as long as they can find places (like cavities under decks) to hide and breed. They live in every state in the U.S. except for Hawaii, and on every continent except Antarctica. In the wild they prefer edge habitat where they can hunt voles, birds, eggs, lizards and other small prey in open meadows and then retreat to the woods for protection.