Gray Fox | Inali
Gray foxes live throughout North America from Southern Canada to Central America and Northern South America. They like all different types of habitat from deserts to forest, but prefers areas with lots of brush and trees. Eating mostly small mammals like mice, rabbits and voles, also insects, berries, nuts, and other fruits and vegetables they find. Gray fox are known to live 6-10 years in the wild; 15 years or more in captivity.
Inali was taken from the den at only a few days old and raised the first three months in someone's living room with domestic cats and dogs. She was then given up to Fish and Wildlife in 2008 and her permanent home is now here at Turtle Bay, as she cannot be released. When Inali sees something new, she runs to it instead of away from it. When Inali's trainers enter her exhibit, she approaches making a whimpering noise and raises her back leg to "ask" for scratches.
Some fun facts about gray foxes:
-Most foxes spend the majority of their time on the ground, but the gray fox spends a lot of its time in trees and are very agile climbers. They use their long, curved claws to grip and their long tail to balance.
-The gray fox will den in hollow logs, rocky crevices, and caves. These dens are only used during mating and rearing the young.
-Gray foxes are known for mating with the same partner every year.
-The gray fox was spared from the fur trade because of their coarse hair. Because of this, settlers introduced the red fox to North America.
-They are not a cat! They may act like a cat, but they are in the same family as dogs.
-Foxes have scent glands on their neck and mark their territory with those glands as well as with their urine. Inali often pees on her toys and food dish to say "that is mine".
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