They weigh about 10 pounds, usually move at night and leave no trace. They are friendly, fast and perhaps most importantly, the critical part of the California ecosystem is that they help, not hurt, their environment and those who occupy it.
The gray fox contains a “silver gray coat with noticeable yellow, brown, rust or white on the throat and abdomen,” says the California Living Museum. They are “the most common fox in California, mostly living in coastal or mountain forests at lower heights.”
And now, especially in the Central Valley, night critics are increasingly visible. Those who work closest to Foxes said their number seems to be increasing this year.
“I had no opportunity to see how many foxes we received this year, but probably almost 30, more than twice what we usually get,” said Donna Burt, Executive Director of Stanislaus Wildlife Center on Tuesday.
Grey Gray Fox oversees Care Stanislaus Wildlife Center in Hughson, California, a small city near Modesto. (Donna Burt/Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center)
The center is in Hughsone, about 9 miles southeast of Modesto city center. The non -profit mission, she says, is to save and rehabilitate the field of wildlife brought by members of society.
The center serves the area that stretches from Merced to Stockton. This year, the magic has said that the number of gray foxes passing through the center has been noticeably increased.
“We have two Fox cages, and they were full and spilled to a third,” she said and explained that the center, which depends on the help of victims and volunteers from local veterinarians and veterinarians, could release all the foxes they were rehabilitated.
“We get some injured,” she said. “Some of us can save, some not – but if they come with us, they are in bad shape.”
Wildlife Biologist Bar, which in 1984 He founded the center, stated that he did not actually know what the number of foxes assigned to this season, except for the natural flow of wildlife population.
The population of Grey Fox has noticed this year in Central California. (Donna Burt/Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center)
The spell noted that the almighty fox is an important part of the local plants and the wildlife ecosystem. “Many wildlife populations have boom and thoracic cycles. When prey animals have a good year, predators are successful. Then prey animals decrease and predators are shrinking. They rise up and down as a normal cycle.”
The foxes are among the predators, but are essentially useful as useful in controlling their prey populations, mainly rodents. “They go after mice and gophers, baby birds,” she said. “Foxes, they love their mice. They love mice. They love dogs and cat food. They climb fences and quietly and secretly wander around the city. They are small and harmless. The 10 pounds fox is big.”
Several adult gray fox rehabilitation in Stanislaus Wildlife Center in Hughson, California, is a small town behind Modesto. (Donna Burt/Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center)
“I can tell you that Gray Fox is located in almost all cities of the central valley from Fresno North,” SFGate e -mail on Wednesday. The letter wrote in Krysten Kellum, a spokesman for the California Fish and Wildlife Department. “The foxes are intellectual, curious and very intelligent. Do not feed the fox. They are threatened with food conditioning or getting used to humans.”
The gray foxes are cousins near the San Joaquin Kit Fox – the species attached to the Law on endangered species in 1971. And most often are found further south near the Bakersfield. They are also associated with a red fox, which is also not dangerous, but are more commonly seen at 2500 feet or higher. Wildlife officials said both gray and red foxes were more involved in Modesto this summer.
“These types of foxes can be seen in various habitats across the country,” continued the movement. “Foxes provide many advantages of ecosystems to help control rodents and other small prey populations such as squirrels and rabbits.”
Michael Hart, a volunteer of the California Fish and Wildlife Department of Nature, often visits the Tuolumne River Regional Park on the bank of the river, which is about 3 miles from Modesto city center and near the regional airport. He recently said Modesto Bee said he had seen more foxes while he was patrolled.
“You would look here and see three, which is a kind of unusual,” Hart said The Bee.
Modesto is a city of trees and is in Stanislaus County, California (Getty Images)
When it comes to the number of real foxes that are not in the valley this summer, the crossing said it is not real whether the gray fox population is actively monitored: “CDFW monitors/handling the type or type of game on the CESA list, but not necessarily all species,” she wrote.
Stanislaus Wildlife Supervision Center said people were tempted to communicate with gray foxes, taking into account their tenderness and friendly attitude. “They have a kind of slightly gloomy, but as if gentle personalities,” said the spell. “They don’t attack things. They run and hiding.”
However, both the spell and the transfer were warned of interaction with foxes and fed. “It is important to keep wildlife,” the move said on the phone.
More central coasts
– Tired, Monaco billionaire says he leaves Carmel
– “secret face”: California. University Reignites argue by adding new sports
– wild pigs found with blue meat in a California spark alarm
– The rich city of California is about to lose both of its diving bars
Get the most popular SFGate stories sent to your inbox by signing up to a daily newsletter.