The gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) is a species of canid found from southernmost Canada to northern South America and throughout almost the entire United States, with the exception of the mountainous regions of the northwest. They’re the only canid found in both North and South America. Gray foxes prefer forest habitats and farmland but can also be found in suburban and urban areas. They take invertebrate and vertebrate prey up to the size of rabbits and also eat fruit, nuts, and grain. Gray foxes have semi-retractable, hooked claws that make them adept tree climbers.
The interesting thing about the gray fox, and the only other member of the Urocyon genus, the island fox, is that they’re the most basal of all extant canids and form a clade of their own outside of all other canids. This means that other foxes, like the red fox, are more closely related to wolves than they are to the gray fox.
Although common, the gray fox is more elusive and rarer to see than the red fox, at least in my experience. For that reason, I’m always a little more excited to see a gray fox than I am to see a red. I was excited when my backyard camera trap got pictures and videos of a gray fox in my yard for the first time last winter. I haven’t captured it since. Meanwhile, red foxes are nightly visitors. Because my heart skips a beat whenever I see one, the gray fox is a species I’ve wanted in my toy collection since I started this hobby and so I was thrilled to see one included in Toymany’s Mini North American Animals set. I didn’t feel compelled to buy the whole set, since it was mostly of species I already had, but I did make sure to get this fox and the alligator snapping turtle that I already reviewed.
Toymany’s gray fox stands 1.1” (2.7 cm) at the shoulder and measures 1.75” (4.4 cm) long but that doesn’t include the curled tail. The actual gray fox is about the same size as the red fox. They stand 12-17” (30.48-43.18 cm) at the shoulder and weigh between 7.9 to 15.4 lbs. (3.6-7 kg) with a maximum weight of 20 lbs. Males are slightly larger than females. Using shoulder height puts the figure at 1/10-1/15 in scale.
Toymany’s gray fox is positioned in a semi-startled pose, with the tail tucked and curling around the left hindlimb and the head looking leftward. It looks as though it was caught in the beam of a flashlight while foraging in the chicken yard. Despite the small size of the figure it is exceptionally well detailed, with hair that follows the contours of the body, tufts overlapping in places, and the coat crumpled together where the head is turning over the shoulder. The coat appears thick and nicely layered, and wavy hair is sculpted over the bushy tail.
The ears are large and pointed, and the muzzle is somewhat short, narrow, and pointed. Ruffs of hair are sculpted over the cheeks. Distinct toepads are sculpted on the paws, and the dewclaws can be seen on the forelimbs, giving the fox the correct digit count of five on the forelimbs and four on the hindlimbs.
The figure has a grizzled, gray and white coat along the back, and grizzled white and orangish-brown body. The throat is white and the underside is pale orange. I would have preferred more gray along the flanks and a white belly. Also, gray foxes have a sharply contrasting, narrow black stripe down the tail that connects to a black tip and that’s not really apparent here, mostly because there is so much white painted over it. Gray foxes also tend to have black markings on the sides of the muzzle that are missing here. The nose is black and glossy, and the glossy eyes are brown, ringed in black, and have black pupils. The eyes are bright and beautiful and add a lot of life to the little toy.
Although I would have preferred a paintjob that’s more true-to-life it’s hard to get nitpicky with a small toy that’s part of a much larger set. By itself, on Toymany’s website, this figure costs less than $4 and for that you’re definitely getting your money’s worth. If Safari or another company ever makes a gray fox and gives it a little extra love, then I’ll likely replace this one but in the meantime I’m just happy that someone has finally produced this unique little canid.
All articles on the Animal Toy Blog are written without the use of ‘AI’