Grey fox (Urocyon cinereogenteus) COSEWIC assessment and update update status report: chapter 12

Existing protection or other status designation

At the international level, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has ranked the grey fox as G5 or very common (G5 = demonstrably secure under present conditions); however, no national (N) rank exists for Canada (ONHIC 2000).

The Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre actively gathers occurrence data on U. cinereoargenteus and has used TNC’s ranking system to give a provincial (S) rank of SZB?, or accidental breeder (SZB = breeding migrants/vagrants, the ? indicates the level of uncertainty surrounding this species) to the grey fox (ONHIC 2000). The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources lists the grey fox as a furbearer (C. Heydon, pers. comm.).

The Manitoba Conservation Data Centre (MBCDC) gives the grey fox the TNC provincial (S) rank of SH (SH = historically known, may be rediscovered) (MBCDC 2000), although biologists consider them to be accidental (W. Koonz, pers. comm.).

The grey fox is cited as present in Quebec under Quebec’s list of vertebrate species (Desrosiers et al. 1993) and it is also listed as a furbearer, although it is illegal to hunt or trap them in the province (R. Lafond, pers. comm.). There have been no confirmed sightings of grey fox in Quebec for over 100 years.

U. cinereoargenteus is thought to be present, although rare, in St. Lawrence Islands National Park (Parks Canada 2000). It also occurs in Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve on Pelee Island (Appendix 1) and is thought to be found in Whiteshell Provincial Park in southeastern Manitoba (I. McKay, pers. comm.). Its occurrence in other parks and nature reserves is unknown.

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