Where You Can Find America’s Five Species of Fox

1. Alaska

Alaska is home primarily to arctic foxes and red foxes. It’s the only state with arctic foxes, and there are an estimated 110,000 throughout Canada and Alaska. Additionally, somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 red foxes live in the state.

2. Missouri

Both gray and red foxes are found in Missouri. There is no estimation for gray foxes, but they are primarily found in the Ozarks. For red foxes, there’s thought to be somewhere near 100,000.

3. Wisconsin

There is no population estimation for gray foxes in Wisconsin, but it’s known that there are far more red foxes than gray foxes. That’s not hard considering there are roughly 200,000 red foxes in the state.

4. South Carolina

There’s no estimation for red foxes in South Carolina. However, it’s thought that they are very abundant and easy to spot if you like it. Gray foxes outnumber red foxes here, roughly at a ratio of three to one.

5. Michigan

Red and gray foxes are found in Michigan. Neither species has a population estimation, but both are found all across the state.

6. Minnesota

Gray foxes are found in Minnesota. There is no population count, but their population is growing. Red foxes are also prevalent.

7. Arizona

Kit foxes are found in Arizona, and this may be the state they’re most abundant. Gray foxes and red foxes are also found here.

8. Utah

Utah is also home to three species of fox. However, the red fox is definitely the most abundant. Kit foxes are more commonly found in the desert portions of the state.

9. North Carolina

Both the gray fox and red fox live in North Carolina, though the red fox is likely more abundant, with around 13,000 individuals, the gray fox is the only native species.

10. North Dakota

North Dakota is home to red and gray foxes. Neither is fully estimated, but some small studies have suggested that there could be over 200,000 red foxes.

11. Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is home to both red and gray foxes. There are roughly 50,000 red foxes in the state.

12. Texas

Texas is also home to red and gray foxes. Though the populations dropped for a bit, they’re steadily going back up.

13. Oklahoma

It’s tough that several thousand red foxes live in Oklahoma. The gray fox and the swift fox also live in the state.

14. New Jersey

Red and gray foxes live in New Jersey. Roughly 10,000 red foxes live there.

15. Massachusetts

Thousands of red foxes are found everywhere in the state except for Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. There are gray foxes as well, but they’re heavily outnumbered by red foxes.

What Do Foxes Eat?

Contrary to popular belief, foxes are not carnivores, but actually omnivores. In the wild, foxes will eat a wide variety of foods, although their diet is primarily meat-based. Generally, they will hunt animals when available but will settle for plants when they can’t catch meat.

In particular, they enjoy high protein, fatty foods like fish, eggs, and birds. That said, they also enjoy sweet and savory foods, like fruit, dairy, and nuts. Overall, you can boil down the foods that foxes like to eat into 15 categories. 

The foods that foxes like to eat most include:

• Rodents
• Rabbits
• Birds
• Frogs
• Worms
• Insects
• Raccoons
• Reptiles
• Crabs
• Mollusks
• Fruit
• Seeds
• Fungi
• Vegetables
• Eggs