Coyotes or Foxes ? - recent videos from trail camera

GKL

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We live next to woods and I have a trail camera set up near the edge of my property facing towards the woods.

Most of the year we might see mostly deer, and an occasional rabbit or stray cat, ect. but recently we got some other critters on video.

It would be easier for me to tell if it was daylight and the clips were in color, but the night vision mode is in black and white.

I am leaning towards them being Coyotes as I heard some loud "yipping" sounds last night.

Anyhow, those of you who are more critter savvy might be able to confirm if they are indeed Coyotes or not, thanks in advance for your help !

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(this one look in the background towards the right)
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(added note: recently a man was bitten by a rabid fox right in town walking down a street ! :shock:)
 
Great captures, looks like a fox(es) to me.

Thanks, appreciate your reply, how sure are you ?

I'm not saying it might not be foxes, but the loud "yipping" I heard last night seems to more like something I heard that Coyotes do, not sure offhand if Foxes make any sounds like that. (but then again, it might had been Coyotes out of view making the yipping sounds and Foxes caught on the trail camera video)
 
If they are fixes they are fat!

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FOX! Spell check strikes again!

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:lol: don't feel bad, I need to proofread my posts and I still likely might let a typo get thru occasionally. :lol:

I agree with foxes. Grey fox to be exact.

Thanks, Foxes seem to be the consensus thus far !

Looks like a fox to me. 100%

Thanks again, wasn't trying to sound like a doubting Thomas :lol: it's just that those loud yipping sounds I heard had me wondering :?: :lol:
 
Here's a picture my son took of a Coyote walking down our street a couple of years ago . Back then you rarely saw one now you see them more often and they howl a lot , We have a Fire Station nearby and when the sirens go off
that will start them up . Lots of pets are disappearing .
 

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I’d say a mix of fox, top images looked like Grey fox, lower looked like a skinny red.
Sitting in my lazy boy one morning looking out towards the pond, I saw a coyote in a ‘point’ position…he was pointing a red fox 50 feet away. The red fox was also on point. Not sure if the fox ended up as ‘yote dinner or not, I grabbed the binocs came back and they were gone.

We have coyotes come right up to our squirrel feeder near our picture window in broad daylight.
 
Here's a picture my son took of a Coyote walking down our street a couple of years ago . Back then you rarely saw one now you see them more often and they howl a lot , We have a Fire Station nearby and when the sirens go off
that will start them up . Lots of pets are disappearing .

You would think they would shy away from being out in the open during the daytime unless they were rabid.

That is one reason why our dog is an inside dog, even when I take her outside to go potty she is on a harness with a leash, I don't just let her run out on her own. Even when I give her some outside time to get some fresh air and exercise she is not allowed to roam free unless she is the roughly 76 feet by 15 feet fenced in area I made for her to get exercise unleashed, even then I keep a watch on her if I am not in there with her but doing yard work, other times I'll take her for a walk around our property on her leash.


On the Castle grounds, a couple of years back, we raised a family of fox kits. Used to sit out on the Royal Deck and listen to them yipping! So KT thinks they are also foxes!

Wow, I guess the ones you raise tame are not the danger that wild ones can be.

Thanks for mentioning the yipping, the yipping was what was making me think it might be Coyotes (I have heard news reports in the past of Coyote sightings) but since you said that Foxes also do yipping and so far everyone is saying Foxes after seeing the videos then I guess we have some yipping Foxes in the area :lol:

I tried to record the yipping on my phone the other night but by the time I found the app button they had stopped :lol: I wonder if their yipping might sound the same as Coyotes yipping enough that it would be hard to tell them apart just from the yipping without seeing them. It would be neat if in the future if I hear yipping I could say either "that is Coyotes yipping" or "that is Foxes yipping" :lol:

Years ago with a previous trail camera I had I captured a video or pic of a critter that I think someone said was a Coyote (if I remember correctly) I'll have to see if I can find it when I have time to search, if I can find it I'll see about posting it as a comparison.
 
I’d say a mix of fox, top images looked like Grey fox, lower looked like a skinny red.
Sitting in my lazy boy one morning looking out towards the pond, I saw a coyote in a ‘point’ position…he was pointing a red fox 50 feet away. The red fox was also on point. Not sure if the fox ended up as ‘yote dinner or not, I grabbed the binocs came back and they were gone.

We have coyotes come right up to our squirrel feeder near our picture window in broad daylight.

Wow, are Coyotes normally that bold to come out in daylight and go right up to the house ?

Interesting, so do Grey and Red Foxes get along with each other ?

So there is a possibility that instead of just Foxes, both Foxes and Coyotes might have recently been in our area and maybe only the Foxes got caught on video recently.

Is it that only the Coyotes are predators to the Foxes or do Foxes also go after Coyotes ?

If you notice in that 3rd video clip there seems to be 2 smaller critters running in the same direction right to left, not sure if one is chasing the other or both simply going in the same direction, then you see a larger critter (maybe a deer ?) heading from left to right.
 
Years ago with a previous trail camera I had I captured a video or pic of a critter that I think someone said was a Coyote (if I remember correctly) I'll have to see if I can find it when I have time to search, if I can find it I'll see about posting it as a comparison.

Okay, I went ahead and did a forum search and found this pic from a post I posted back in 2018
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Forum responses to that pic from 2018 included:

"I agree coyote - it’s lacking the markings of a fox."

"You got yourself a Yote that time."

"No doubt that a coyote there."

Here is a helpful link I had found online and posted back then: (wish I'd have had already remembered it :lol:)

Confusing Canids: Differentiating Red Foxes, Grey Foxes, and Coyotes

https://emammal.si.edu/north-carolinas-candid-critters/blog/confusing-canids-differentiating-red-foxes-grey-foxes-and

Quote from the above link:

"However, there are three species where people routinely get stumped, the canids, or members of the dog family. These include the red fox, grey fox, and coyote. It’s easy to see where people get confused as these species can look very similar at a glance. But, if you know where to look, there are some subtle but definitive tell-tale signs that will help you spot the differences......"
(end of quote)
 
I’d say a mix of fox, top images looked like Grey fox, lower looked like a skinny red.
Gary, I was thinking along the same lines as Amc. The animal in the first two videos appears to have a black stripe down its back & tail - signature of the grey fox. In the final video, we see a critter with black "boots" on its legs, like the red fox.

Prior to reading your original post, my knowledge on the subject was minimal, but with my interest piqued, I did a web search last night. In my own search, I came across the exact article that you've just posted. Then I tried out my newly acquired knowledge on your trail cam videos, which was a fun exercise.

As a side note ~ The foxes & coyotes in our area are rather scarce, but this summer a different sort of wildlife has been frequenting our neighborhood. Last week, three black bears sauntered through our front yard! :shock:
 
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That was a very informative link Gary, thanks!

I am glad it said on that page "It’s easy to see where people get confused as these species can look very similar at a glance." as that made me feel better that I was having a problem telling which they were :laughing:

Gary, I was thinking along the same lines as Amc. The animal in the first two videos appears to have a black stripe down its back & tail - signature of the grey fox. In the final video, we see a critter with black "boots" on its legs, like the red fox.

Prior to reading your original post, my knowledge on the subject was minimal, but with my interest piqued, I did a web search last night. In my own search, I came across the exact article that you've just posted. Then I tried out my newly acquired knowledge on your trail cam videos, which was a fun exercise.

As a side note ~ The foxes & coyotes in our area are rather scarce, but this summer a different sort of wildlife has been frequenting our neighborhood. Last week, three black bears wandered through our front yard! :shock:

Glad you had fun with wildlife identification ! :D (and it's also nice to know what critters are roaming onto your property at night :lol:)

Bears in your front yard ? :shock:

I think you'd likely rather have the Foxes and Coyotes instead ! :lol:

Fortunately no bears in our section of South Carolina that I ever heard of, maybe more possible in the northern rural parts of the state.
 
GLK, KT did not raise tame foxes! Ha ha. The Mated pair of foxes that frequented the Castle grounds liked the ready source of rodents in KT's large woodlot so would visit several times a day and in the evening to catch mice. The Kits did the most yipping, not knowing to keep quiet! Ha ha. But the adults would also yip at times, probably as a warning the kits to be alert!
 
GLK, KT did not raise tame foxes! Ha ha. The Mated pair of foxes that frequented the Castle grounds liked the ready source of rodents in KT's large woodlot so would visit several times a day and in the evening to catch mice. The Kits did the most yipping, not knowing to keep quiet! Ha ha. But the adults would also yip at times, probably as a warning the kits to be alert!

:laughing:

......so you benefited from having them as a free mice control service.

I don't know for sure but I'd imagine that Coyotes might be more of a thread to pets than Foxes would be.

That yipping I heard the other night was pretty loud, and sounded like a bunch of them yipping at the same time.
 
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