Red Fox Scat and Tracks: How to Identify Them (Vulpes vulpes)

Carnivore scat is tubular, often twisted and tapered at one end, and full of hair, bone fragments, berries or seeds depending on the season. Dog-family tracks show four toes with claw marks and an X drawn between the pads; cat-family tracks show four toes with no claws and a three-lobed heel pad. Many carnivores leave scat on trails, rocks and junctions on purpose, so where it sits is a clue in itself. The measurements below for Red Fox are quoted from the wildlife agencies linked at the bottom of the page.

• Size: Smaller than Coyote scat
• Contents/color: Appearance depends on the fox's diet; may contain bone, hair, feathers, or seeds

• Front: Front footprint about 2-2.25 inches long, 4 toes, overall oval or square-shaped
• Hind: Hind footprint about 2 inches long, 4 toes, overall diamond-shaped
• Toes: 4 toes on both front and hind feet
• Claws usually show
• Gait: Stride length 8-15 inches at a trot, with tracks often falling in a near-straight line

• Burrow/den: Sometimes digs its own burrow, but often uses one abandoned by a woodchuck or badger
• Bones/toys left at the den entrance: Pups leave items such as bones as toys around the den

The Gray Fox is slightly smaller and grayer in color, with a black-tipped tail that is triangular (not round) in cross-section The Gray Fox page has its own sign list.

Put something of known size next to it (a coin, a pen, a boot) and shoot straight down in soft light; low side light brings out the shape of tracks in mud or snow. For scat, photograph the whole deposit and one close-up showing contents. Note where it was: on a log, in the open, on a trail, near water. The app suggests the likely animal; confirm with the size and shape notes above.