Celebrate the end of winter with these cute foxes playing in the snow

Somehow we’re on yet another Monday, but if you thought that the cuteness would be themed around Saint Patrick’s Day — joke’s on you! Instead, we’re celebrating the coming of the Vernal (Spring) Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere. Let’s wave goodbye to that snowy winter weather with some last glimpses of adorable animals enjoying it, courtesy of BW writer Cory T.

Personally, I had never thought of foxes as creatures that would enjoy the snow — I had foolishly classified them as winter hibernators without research. But fox babies will happily romp about despite the cold, and adults clearly don’t mind it as shown by foxes Fritz and Farley of The Zoo in Forest Park & Education Center at the onset. But don’t let their cuteness fool you — despite looking like energetic house cats, foxes are still wild animals. And we still had an even bigger question: what kinds of foxes are they?

Now, it’s hard to distinguish if these babies are grey or red foxes (assuming this video was shot in North America). Gray and red foxes are actually distant cousins in the Canine family. However, they are incredibly similar, so how can we distinguish the two?

In North America, the two species have overlapping territory ranges from southern Canada through the United States. You’ll rarely find red foxes in the southwestern U.S. despite being exclusive natives of the Northern Hemisphere on the global scale; gray foxes (exclusive to the Americas) are similarly unlikely to be spotted in the northwestern U.S. but can be found as far south as Venezuela and Columbia. Their bigger difference is in their preferred habitats — gray foxes will stick to seclusion, such as densely wooded areas, while red foxes like open woodlands, wetlands, and fields, and don’t mind rural or suburban areas.

Red foxes are one of the most recognizable animals in the natural world, usually identified by their russet coloring and white chins, bellies, and tail-tips. But did you know they have color variations? According to A-Z Animals, red foxes can also have black, brown, silver, or their own version of gray fur. Healthy red foxes can weigh up to 25 pounds, have longer snouts, with black feet and ears and can weigh up to 25 pounds. Red fox kits are born with brown or gray fur color, growing into their later, more vivid fur variations after a month; however, they’ll stay with their parents until fall.

Conversely, gray foxes are overall smaller (think a small-to-medium housecat, ranging 6 to 15 pounds) and have rounder faces and shorter snouts. Their fur is more “salt and pepper gray” but the easiest identifier is their black tipped tails. As a species, the gray fox is pretty unique as a tree-climber. Their retractable claws and flexible wrists enable them to climb up high to “den, forage, or escape predators” earning them a nickname of tree fox. Gray fox kits are born with almost entirely black fur and stay with their parents until roughly 10 months of age. Notably, some sites report they are not fans of colder weather and tend to stick to nighttime hunting activities.

Through all this research (and some process of elimination), we’re guessing these playful pups in the initial BlueSky video are the more common red foxes — something we confirmed later as the creator of our original clip (Redditor OofDahDer) compiled an additional 10 minute video of their adventures. Both species sit at the Least Concern classification on the IUCN’s Red List, so we’ll hopefully get to enjoy their adorable little faces for years to come. So wave (or yip) goodbye to the snow for another year, and play on little kits.