Can coyotes and fox cross breed

T

tonym

New member
Yesterday while hunting north jersey I saw what was either the biggest red fox I have ever seen or some kind of cross . I never got to shoot at it cause it came in from my side and rushed in and spotted me first. When I turned to point the gun at it I saw blaze orange which I thought was my son who was deer hunting on the property. It turned out to be a orange cone on the farmers sprinkler system . The animal had a fox head and was long and lean body but had a black hind end and black and silver tail . the front end looked like a red fox but it was every bit 40-45 lbs. It passed my son under his treestand . My son said a second large red passed through after the huge one he said it was at least twice the size of a normal fox. I thought it was a coyote but he said it stopped and sat down before moveing on and was definatly a fox but he to estimated it at around 40 lbs or better.He also mentioned the coloring was really odd.Just wondering if the cross was a possiblity.
 
Well.....

2x the normal red fox would only be 2x12=24 #. Also it takes alot of yote to make 40#'s

How did the tail compare to the body ? Yotes are about 3/4 body 1/4 tail and red fox are 2/3 body 1/3 tail.

Never heard of yotes and fox crossing.
 
Without a doubt it was 1/4 tail and 3/4 body. Not a bit of exageration probaly more like 3x size of the fox . It was really long as any yote but much sleeker build to it . It was not mangy looking but real odd coloring . I am the only one hunting the property for predators so I hope to get another chance at it.
 
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I actually answered my own question . chromesome count id diffrent in both species , so highly unlikely. I also found out the largest red fox on record was 38 lbs. This one will be very close . I once caught a 34 lb racoon trapping . That animal was weighed at a checking station on a certified scale . I know the largest racoon was like 68 lbs .
 
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I got this Coyote two years ago. Weighed 47 pounds male. Did it look anything like this?
 
I have seen even more red coyotes , a friend got one 3 years ago that was every bit as red as a red fox.If you reversed the colors on your picture it was very close to this but the head looked more like a fox then yours. I guess the only way I will really know is if I get him. Thanks for the rsponse and real cool picture. I will say that the weight was there cause I called in 3 fox which were able to run on top of the crusted snow where the animal in question sounded like a freight train breaking through the crust on every step.He cale in a lot faster and harder then most of the fox I have seen more like a yote rushing in also.
 
A friend of mine does nuisance trapping and he has coyote trapped for probably 20 yrs. He caught a coyote that had a redish color pelt I thought it could have been mistaken for a fox but it was definitely a coyote.
 
Thanks guys for all the input. On my friends farm a few years ago , his uncle shot a coyote that was all red and as red as any fox I ever saw. The animal I saw the other day , I am sure was a coyote and not a fox . First of all it rushed in hard on the decoy , second the snow crust was hard enough for the fox to not break through , track size was coyote not fox . The only reason I questioned was my son who was in a treestand said it was the biggest fox he had ever saw, he is not a predator hunter.at the moment it happened I thought it was a coyote . The thing that puzzled me was the fox came to my son after the coyote and thought it was following it but it was a few minutes behind. Conclusion ... It was a coyote!
 
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