Thursday, May 16, 2013

An Unusual Fox Tail





Fox tails are usually bushy masses of white, black, gray, and orange fur.  Not this fox's tail though.  This one looks like it could belong to a rat.

I'm unsure as to what the cause of this odd looking tail is, but I have a few ideas in mind.

It could be malnutrition, mange, disease, hormone imbalances, or maybe it has pulled fur out of its tail to add warmth to a den (yes, some foxes do this in the same way that some birds pull out down and feathers for the same reason).


Here's a picture of a different fox in the same location with a bushier tail.  What a beauty!

3 comments:

  1. My vote is for mange. I've seen other pictures pop up in the past few months of mangey canids....poor guy. The foxes tail is his best asset, IMO!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I vote mange, too. It's a shame any animal has to suffer with mange.

    ReplyDelete