Fox Howl

[Ezana4CE]

So I was watching the news and eating and heard a strange howling sound coming from outside. At first I thought is was a whiney compressor from a natural gas pumping station. After it stopped I then heard it again about 7 minutes later. So I cut off the lights and began trying to watch the yard through a window. I saw no movement and didn't have any NV or thermal gear on hand. I then went to another couple of windows to see if I could get a better view. Then I switched rooms. Still I saw nothing. It sounded like some sort of dog to me, but it wasn't a coyote. I thought maybe it's a feral dog. Then after a while I left the window, turned the lights back on, and finished eating. As I finished my meal, I remembered that I needed to bring some gear in from my truck. When I went outside and walked towards my truck I caught a silhouette and a shiny pair of eyes looking back at me to my left. There was a perfectly lighted backdrop revealing a compact frame, with short but slender legs, an elongated body, and a bushy tail. It was too tall to be a raccoon, but looked too short and compact to be a coyote. I started to head back in the house for a rifle, but when I moved it bolted for the woods. It was in the vicinity of a scrap pile I'd been tossing outside for the animals. I suspected that it was a fox by its outline. When I came inside I YouTubed "Fox Howls" and heard some similar sounds. The only difference was that this one had a deeper voice than the uploaded recordings. Otherwise the cadence and tones were very similar. It sounded like a mating call. So I looked up fox mating season in East Texas and it is from December/January to February and I read they are active at night. This was pretty awesome. I hardly ever see foxes. I can remember seeing maybe three in my life. Anybody hunt foxes in the Southern U.S. know anything about their howls or mating calls? I'm glad I didn't have anything to shoot it with. I don't have a reason to kill any foxes at the moment. I've read that they along with skunks are some of the main carriers of rabies in these parts, but this one appears to have exhibited normal behavior by running off after we locked eyes and I moved a little too much. And as I type this, it has returned to the yard and is howling again. I think I'll have a closer look.

 

[Ezana4CE]

No dice the second time around. But the howl and some things I'd been noticing around here seem consistent with some things I've read this evening. I think I'll put a camera up to verify that this is indeed a fox. If so, I may let them be. Now if they're denning around the house I may try to run them off. I don't think I'm too interested in hunting healthy foxes. I still got a rifle ready in case I'm wrong.

 

[Rob_in_NC]

Their howl sounds more like a scream. Many of the old folks here mistake it thinking it's a mountain lion, which I find funny.
I love to see them and have never heard of one denning near a house, but I suppose it's possible. I dont begrudge anyone who legally hunts them, but it's not my cup of tea. I enjoy watching them.

Here is a YouTube vid of the 'scream' I was talking about.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Rob_in_NC Have a listen to some of these. The one at 0:40 sounds like what I was hearing, but deeper. Also around the 2:00 mark. I don't mind listening and observing but, others started yelling at it out of the door after a while.

 

[Rob_in_NC]

Interesting. Cant say I've ever heard the 'bark and scream'. Sounds like a neutered coyote...hahaha. Same with the 'howl'

 

[hushpuppy]

They have that nasal barking kind of howl . I had a pair that had a temporary den under my sun room a couple years ago. Drove my dogs to distraction. they are interesting little critters.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Interesting. Cant say I've ever heard the 'bark and scream'. Sounds like a neutered coyote...hahaha. Same with the 'howl'

@Rob_in_NC I've been observing animals most of my life. These sounds are new to me. When I was a kid we didn't have anything close to YouTube. You had to know how to work a card catalog, ask a teacher, a scout leader/master, (grand)parent, friend's (grand)parent, hunter or member of the community what something was. A lot of the time it was hard to imitate sounds so you had to describe how something looked. Finding a track or scat was really helpful. There are still plants, scat, and sounds I have yet to identify even if I've seen and heard them before. I enjoy it.

 

[Ezana4CE]

They have that nasal barking kind of howl . I had a pair that had a temporary den under my sun room a couple years ago. Drove my dogs to distraction. they are interesting little critters.

@hushpuppy From what I've read they den as they rear pups. I don't know if they return to old dens, but they will use existing structures. I believe they may also use abandoned dens of other animals. Around here armadillos do a lot of digging so it wouldn't surprise me to see them convert an old armadillo burrow into something seasonal. I'm just speculating here ,but I did read that they don't have an issue living in proximity to humans. They have a water source around here and I've been throwing out food so it would make sense. I thought raccoons were eating the food.

 

[Rob_in_NC]

I have to admit now... It wasnt until just a few years ago that I realized that sound was a fox. I had grown up here in Western NC and was always told that scream was a bobcat or mountain lion. I happened to stumble on that vid several years ago and it opened my eyes. I sent to my dad, who is still alive, and he said 'well I'll be damned'... haha

 

[hushpuppy]

Ezana, there were ( and are) definitely other things living in there. I think it started as a woodchuck den. I'll have to put out a camera again.

 

[AmosBurton]

I used to see and hear a lot of them when I lived in NH. My drive to town was down a river road in the White Mtn National Forest and I'd see 3 or 4 patrolling the high grass along the roadside for rodents. They are excellent rodent control. More often than not I'd see one with a mouth full of a rodent or making their characteristic jump/pounce onto their dinner.
Their sounds can definitely be disconcerting if you don't know what it is.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Tonight I set eyes on it (around 9pm) and it is indeed a red fox. I saw the animal plain as day a moment ago. Beautiful animal. I’m surprised I captured it in a photo. It wasn’t afraid nor was it aggressive. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about shooting it, but I will leave it be. It’s not creating any problems here.