Foxes and Raccoons Showing up on the Game Camera

Last Monday night, with the help of Sunday dinner leftovers, I was able to capture three species on the game camera behind T.A. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), and raccoon (Procyon lotor) were all captured in photos and video. It was exciting to see a pair of red foxes on camera at the same time. Red foxes are largely monogamous and I can't help but wonder if this is a mated pair? We will have to keep our eyes out for red fox kits this spring! In another interesting note, I have been using my game camera for four years at home (just across Route 1 from T.A.) and have captured countless images of gray foxes. I have not once observed a red fox in my yard. It seems that the gray foxes in this area are better at assimilating into backyards and neighborhoods while the red foxes prefer less human disturbance. This would explain the dramatic increase in gray fox numbers in Southern Maine over the past decade. In fact, they are the only Maine furbearer whose harvest levels have increased in that time.

The video above shows the second red fox arriving on the scene.

The raccoon captured on camera the same night is "healthy" to say the least. This mild winter is certainly a welcomed change from last year from most wildlife's perspective. This is not the first time raccoons have been documented on T.A. grounds. There was a regular visitor to the squirrel feeding station last fall during our research period. My lab aides would arrive to find the feeder completely empty each morning with the SD cards full of pictures of the raccoon helping itself to the the corn and sunflower seed mixture.

A healthy raccoon can be seen sniffing around for leftovers in this clip.

The gray fox showed up briefly during the early morning hours but provided a great video clip. The custodial and residential staff have all reported regular gray fox sightings around campus in the early morning and late evening hours over the past few years. The amount of tracks right on campus after our most recent snow was evidence of their willingness to cruise the campus at night in search of any food items left along the walkways over the course of the day. 

This gray fox was a bit late to the party but stopped in to scent check where the red foxes had already cleaned up.