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Foxes and Coyotes
By Joseph Markow, Cornwall
When identifying a new animal in the field, learning what characteristics to focus on is one of the best ways to avoid the frustration that occurs later when you look at a field guide and realize there are 3-4 species that are easily mistaken. Let’s take a look at our local doglike animals in the family canidae. This includes three species that look very different in the field guide, but on a dark night when you get a two-second glimpse of one running across the road it can be difficult to tell what you saw.
One way you can improve the identification of doglike animals is by focusing on the tail. Most people look at the head or eyes of the animal and never even notice the tail. If you see a white tip on the doglike animal, it is most likely a red fox, regardless of the color of the coat. Don’t be fooled by the name, because red foxes can be red, gray or coal black.
On the other hand, a black stripe running down the top of the tail and ending in a black tail tip would be found on the gray fox. This species tends to be more secretive than red foxes and many people probably don’t even realize we have two fox species in the area. What a treat to see one!
The coyote is larger than foxes, but in that two-second look on a dark night, even size can be deceptive. Instead look for the puffy tail with the black tip. Most field guides focus on the appearance of the animal and neglect the fact that behavior is also important in identifying animals. In this case, the coyote droops its tail down as it runs, whereas the foxes run with their tail straight out horizontally.
Consider two other things when identifying these animals. One is that domestic dogs are out there as well and should also be considered when trying to identify an animal or track. Second is that animals can be variable in size and color, and they may look different depending on their age or depending on the lighting and even the amount that they puff up their fur or feathers to thermoregulate. Field guides tend to show only a few samples, so there may be times when a wild animal may look nothing like its representation in the guide. By studying the specific field characteristics, you may have more success identifying the animal.
Simply identifying an animal tells you little more than a name that people have given that species. The joy of identification is that it can be a beginning to learning about animal behavior, habitat and other interesting facts or stories about that animal, and you become more aware of the wildlife that makes up our backyard nature.
Other Resources:
• Peterson Field Guide to Mammals by William Burt and Richard Grossenheider, 1980.
• Mammals of Pennsylvania by J. Kenneth Doutt and others, 1973.
• Stokes Guide to Nature in Winter by Donald Stokes, 1976.
• Stokes Guide to Animal Tracking and Behavior by Donald and Lillian Stokes, 1986.
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