Has anyone ever seen a fox/coyote with a ringed tail?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

like a raccoon tail.

[SeattleVet]

1. Maybe a coati?

Member of the raccoon family, but looks a little more like a fox.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. looke it up

no -- it was definitely NOT one of those....

but, thanks, I learned something

Coatis, genera Nasua and Nasuella, also known as the Brazilian aardvark, Mexican tejón, hog-nosed coon,[1] pizotes, Panamanian Gatosolo, crackoons and snookum bears, are members of the raccoon family (Procyonidae). They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, and south-western North America. The word "coatimundi" ( /koʊˌɑːtɨˈmʌndi/) is a commonly used misnomer applied to solitary adult males of N. nasua.[citation needed] The term is reported to be derived from the Tupi language (Brazil).[2]

more at link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coati

[Downwinder]

2. Sure it was not a Civet Cat?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. no. not according to the pics I am seeing when I google civet cat

wide range of pix there but NO, this looked like a grey fox but it's tail had rings... like about five rings...it was a long tail. I have seen this critter twice now in less than 48 hours...... early morning Monday and just now late evening Tuesday. I live by a creek and see lots of critters but, I have never seen anything like this before.

[denbot]

5. Ring tailed cats.

I worked at the Grand Canyon when I was 18. I was the night porter at the Bright Angel lodge, and we had a Ring Tailed cat living in the head porter's office ceiling/cubby hole. Other then that I've never seen one out of a zoo.

[IMG][/IMG]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring-tailed_cat

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. the face does not look right and the tail is tooo bushy ---

lord. what a tail on that thing!

[denbot]

7. This little guy made his tail poofy.. Like a kitty.

I would bet dollars to donuts that these are your guy.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. he looks too small and if so He is way out of range. I am eastern US.

this critter was big as a fox/coyote .... the rings were faint...not as distinct.

[nolabear]

10. Oscar?

Was its fur both long and short?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. haha! yeah -- that was my first thought, too

Oscar is in My Yard!!

[Kali]

12. get a PICTURE!

you got me curious

never seen a striped tail coyote, I went the same place as denbot, but out of your range

bobcats have longer tails than you think and they can be striped, but you would know a cat I imagine

[Tuesday Afternoon]

21. I will try to get a pic. definitely not a bobcat.

[fizzgig]

13. the google came up with this

very faint rings

[Tuesday Afternoon]

22. this is more like it. but it was grey/silver coat and bigger/longer body.

[penpapercoffee]

62. Red

Mine was red, light colored belly with black rings around a light colored bushy tail...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

66. when was the last time you saw it? recently?

[penpapercoffee]

67. Aug 2013

Was the last time I saw it

[Agschmid]

47. I saw one of those in VT once.

[raccoon]

14. Has anyone ever seen a fox-coyote? (tee hee) nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

23. hee-hee

[Rambis]

15. Beavcoon?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

20. can't see second or third pic--- but No to the first one. thanks

[sinkingfeeling]

16. How about one of these?

Really, some silver foxes' tails look slightly ringed.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

18. nope. wrong snout and face and body and legs. thanks though.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

19. Really, some silver foxes' tails look slightly ringed. --- really?

I think that is what I saw. a silver fox .... faint rings but, definitiely rings, yes.

[lastlib]

24. swift fox....

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AoS9kfI89Q4/TTbg7JFwxXI/AAAAAAAAAU8/wH3XsZ7994A/s1600/Swift+fox+pictures.jpg

Lives in upper/central grasslands of North America (Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, upper plains US), has distinctive black on tip of tail, tail markings can resemble rings somewhat. Mostly gray coat, w/ some red/orange on abdomen area. A bit smaller than most other fox species. I have seen them here (around Kansas City MO); in fact, my brother hit one with his car years ago. Where do you live?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

25. that looks a lot like what I saw. not sure but, could be.

I live in the southeast foothills of the Blue Ridge...maybe they have migrated this far south

[lastlib]

28. possible they've migrated to your neighborhood.....

The one my brother hit, as I recall, was virtually all gray. We thought it was a gray fox or silver fox until a taxidermist friend told us it was a swift fox. I don't recall it having ring-type coloration on its tail, but pics of some others I have seen have shown that. It's not a very prominent trait, apparently, but maybe it's a stronger trait in the population in your area.

Let us know if you find out, or sight it again. If you can get a pic, we'd like to see it. I'm curious.....

[Tuesday Afternoon]

30. will do -- will he chase cows? this story might not have a happy ending --

[lastlib]

31. He might go after a calf if it was away from the herd (unprotected)...

...but I don't think he would try to take down a cow by himself. These critters are more into rabbits, field mice....Cows are too big for it.

[trof]

26. Jaguarundi?

We have them in our neighborhood now.
WAY out of their normal habitat.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

27. nope, Not a cat. It was some type of fox or coyote. pretty though.

thanks

[lastlib]

29. according to my state conservation department, that's a dog.....

(...old joke in my family... A good number of years ago, we sighted a mountain lion in our pasture, less than fifty yards from our house. It was clearly a cat, I got a good look at it thru binoculars--feline snout, feline tail, feline body, feline posture, definitely mountain-lion coloration. And it walked like a cat. We got out a video camera, but by then it was maybe a hundred yards or more away. It was sitting on its haunches as we video-recorded it for 3-4 minutes, then got up and walked into the woods. We called a neighbor, and she saw it, too. We showed the tape to a conservation agent, who declared it was a dog. He absolutely refused to admit that it could be a mountain lion. Truth probably was, he didn't want to have it on record that one had been sighted in this area. Or he was just too lazy to want to investigate it any further. But it was pretty plain to us--we ain't so stupid that we don't know how a cat carries itself. So every time there's a report of a mountain lion in this part of Missouri, we derisively sneer, "Nah, it's a dog!&quot

[Tuesday Afternoon]

34. lol

some conservation agent, right.

[pink-o]

32. The gray fox sometimes has gradation on its tail

A black tip, that could look ringed. My dad has a whole family of them living in his backyard right now, although the kits are gonna probably strike out on their own in a couple months.

Gray foxes are the most dominant fox species on the west coast, but they're also found back east as well. They're about the size of a large beagle.

Could this be your mysterious canid? Either that or Bigfoot, right?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

33. grey fox or coyote is what I think but, the tail had faint but distinct rings

coyote



grey fox

[Rvonk22]

35. I have seen something similar to what you describe...

This was nearly 10 years ago at this point... At the time I had thought it was some sort of a coyote, coon, fox hybrid. The more I searched I realized most of the animals were unable to interbreed with one another. I have still yet to find out what it was I did see that day. I saw this creature in the middle of the day in my rural subdivision in central IL. It was standing in my neighbors yard mid day. When I saw it i put the car in park, got out, and starting walking toward it. I was in aww, Ive always been fascinated with animals and had never seen anything like this creature. As I walked toward it, it lowered its head and started toward me with the utmost grace and agility. It moved sly fully like a fox toward me and then dipped into culvert 15 feet from where it stood. I was aprx. 30 feet from the animal and got a very good look at it. Its face resembled a fox, it was triangular in shape. the animal stood taller than the foxes ive seen around here, more similar to the heights of a coyote. Its legs were long and very slim like a foxes features, and had a slim streamline body. What really threw me off was the tail. Its tail was very long and bushy. but the hair length was all the same length on the tail, it looked almost fluffy. The tail was light and dark banded all the way down the tail. light, dark, light dark. each band was the same width as the one preceding it. I believe the colors of the bands were and orangish red tint, and black. I have looked through hundreds of animal/hybrid pics, and still have not stumbled upon anything that looks even remotely close to what I saw. The face of this animal was most def. that of a fox though, that much I am sure. It was so triangular it almost looked over exaggerated. Sorry for all the typo's I'm writing this in a rush at work. But as of late ive been trying to figure out what it was I saw that day.

[uppityperson]

36. Holy crap! You saw OSCAR!!!!

It started here and went on and on and on.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=624815

A-Schwarzenegger (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-08-04 08:00 PM
Original message
I inherited a mixed animal from Uncle living in woods.
Can animals have sex with different animals?
My Uncle Leonard was a hermit that lived alone
in the woods in the mountains for many years. He
had a little money that he left to my sister and
left me a bicycle and drums and this animal that is
part wild and looks and acts like several type
of animals. I would say part dog, part cat and
the way it climbs part monkey. There is some kind
of wolverine or that kind of animal too in my opinion.
I am afraid to take it to the pound if it is illegal
and they take it. Leonard was a scary man to me and
I just don't want to immediately let it go even
though he is dead I just have this funny feeling
I would be in for bad things if I got rid of it.
I don't know why he left me it except that one time
I listened to him tell me the story of his life.
My sister and I were his only relatives. He didn't
have a will but told a neighbor what he wanted
left to who. I don't want to keep it in the house. I am
afraid if I left it outside it would climb over
this big wall we have around the house and hurt
somebody or even eat something. It weighs about
25 or 30 pounds, has stiff fur that is different
colors and lengths, makes sounds kind of like a
digging badger and if you pulled a rope or something
through a cardboard box. It has claws more like a
rodent. The tail is short and furry, but it could
have been broken off or cut off, it doesn't look right.
It doesn't really play, but it looks at you and then
looks awy when you look at it. It likes to root around
in the garden but it is winter and there's not too much
damage it can do out there.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

38. I think we have seen Oscar. I really do.

except my little dude's tail was full length and gorgeous. So sorry something happened to Oscar's tail

[Tuesday Afternoon]

37. yes, that sounds exactly like what I saw in my yard but, I live in the woods close to a creek. -

thanks for posting and Welcome to DU

[penpapercoffee]

43. I saw this animal today!!

I saw this very animal today. Just as you described. My "fox" was very red with a long bushy tail, light ring, dark ring, etc. etc. Came home, googled him to find out he doesn't exist! Wow! I live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge in VA and this was midday, on a rural road near my home. Thrilling!!! I'm actually replying to this thread because it is the ONLY thing/topic/discussion on the Internet that was even close to what I saw.......

[eppur_se_muova]

55. Anything like this ?

[penpapercoffee]

64. Not even close :(

What I saw most resembles a grey fox but the color is wrong, the legs were longer, and the tail rings were much thinner, more numerous. Like 8 distinct rings. I have yet the see a photo that's even close. So strange. And cool! New species???

[sandmtn]

39. I saw one this morning.

I live in northeast Alabama in a rural area. It was about 5am and so was dark. It ran across the road in front of me and then stopped at the shoulder and turned and looked into my headlights. I think it sat down.

It was as you described - looked exactly like a fox - same face, body, etc except with low-contrast yet definite rings around its fluffy tail. I have seen plenty of foxes run across the road in front of me but the ringed tail on this one caught my eye.

[hrmjustin]

40. Welcome to DU and I hope you enjoy the site.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

41. well then. what the hell is it?? is there some wild cross breeding going on out there?

Welcome to The Lounge

[sandmtn]

42. I know - kinda unsettling.

When I got to work, I told some of my coworkers who are avid hunters (in the real woods - not on a hunting farm). None of them have ever seen one of these.

Thanks for the welcome.

[jenozeryn]

45. Ring Tailed Fox

How funny! I just saw this very animal yesterday, and was searching online to find out what it is, and came across this page.
I live in Mass. and this was definitely a fox/small coyote with a ringed tail. I have been unable to find anything that looks like it thus far. A friend told me that it's a tree fox, but they don't have the ringed tail as this animal did. Have you had any luck in figuring it out?

[Agschmid]

46. Welcome to DU!

I am also from Mass. No foxes that I've seen where I am... Plenty of bunnies so they must be around though!

[ringtail4real]

48. ringed tail fox

just saw one this morning, with reddish fur, definitely a fox body, and capable of running very fast. that tail just stood straight out back. as at least one other person mentioned, curiosity drove me to find out more about it. I live in Westerville, Ohio in a suburban area but there are sparse woods and wetlands in the area. In the same area, about a month and a half ago, saw either a black fox or coyote. My neighbor says he has seen both. The ringtail red fox was a pretty sight. does anyone know the approximate speed a fox can run?

[gopiscrap]

49. Welcome to DU

[inspectorwalker]

50. California Sighting

I live in southern California, last friday I attended a moonlight hike at Mt. Baldy. I took a chairlift up and walked down. I reached the parking lot and realized i did not have my phone. I immediately thought the phone fell out of my pocket on the lift. I ran back up to the lift and asked if i could ride to top but they declined due to closing. I started walking up the mountain under the ski lifts with a powerful LED flashlight.
After about 1500 ft of gain I spotted this animal that does not exist. As i was sweeping my flashlight back and forth, i caught the sight of the bright eyes. At this point i was standing still. My flashlight did not phase the fox at all! it reacted to the sound of a breaking twig under my foot, but did not retreat.
I am very curious to know if you or any others have come to any conclusions. What I saw is exactly as you describe.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

51. thanks for posting. I want to see this critter again. If I do I will post here and try and get a

picture. I saw my critter at dusk.

[buechnerfan]

52. Yes!

I have one that boldly walks through my yard at dusk! The first time I saw him he stopped and starred me down. Getting a picture soon, for sure! So glad I found this link. I'm in Richmond, VA BTW. I kept asking my friends if they had heard of a tall and skinny raccoon.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

53. Yes, I saw mine at dusk but, only that one time. PLEASE, get a picture!!

If I ever see mine again I am running for my cellphone/camera which is always close by.

Welcome to DU

[penpapercoffee]

63. Saw mine outside Charlottesville VA!

Last August. Red, very tall coyote size but with a fox face and features. Thin legs, lighter colored belly bushy full tail with very distinct thin rings in black all the way down its tail. It wasnt afraid and ambled across the road in front of my car. Wish I'd gotten a photo. Wish I'd see it again, it was so pretty!

[Sedona]

54. seen a few in Sedona

[sakabatou]

56. Is this it?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

57. Is that for real and if so, is that a baby?

That is kind of looking like it but, mine was bigger, more mature looking. An adult version.

[sakabatou]

58. That's a real creature.

It's known as the Ring-Tailed Cat.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

59. Ok. I am home now on a bigger screen - that does have some resemblance but,

It's legs are too short and the body is too small. The face is kinda, sorta, maybe somewhat, iffy

I got a doggy vibe more than a cat vibe but, that means nothing - except that I can't explain it any better.

So, It could have been that but, I don't think so for sure.

Wish it would come through the yard again. What ever it was.

[Argos]

60. fox with prominent ringed trail

I saw a red fox with a black and white ringed tail. It was a red fox and the tail was its most arresting feature. This was in Greenwich, Connecticut.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

61. Thanks. How long ago did you see it?

The one I saw was grey with a grey and black ringed tail. bushy, fluffy, long tail.

[penpapercoffee]

65. I agree

First thing I noticed was its large size, second thing I thought was, what a fluffy pretty ringed tail

[Learyofyou]

68. Washington county, Minnesota

Yes! I saw one this morning. 6:30am. I live in rural area. Pulled out of my drive way and noticed a county vehicle (white official looking truck) stopped in front of my property. I pulled out on the road, and stopped to watch the suspicious truck. And that's when I saw the animal they were watching. They only way I can describe is that it looked and moved like a fox. Long bushy tail with pronounced black rings running down it.

It had the overall 'ruddy' color of a coyote, but it's head look like a fox. The tail was the most striking and memorable feature. I've been searching for a comparable picture online this afternoon and came across this thread.

Whatever it was, it caught the attention of the DNR or animal control. I didn't think to stop and talk the person once I found out they were monitoring an animal. I will definitely try to photograph if I see it again.

[California Patriot]

69. Yes, last night I did!

I saw one last night! I live in Claremont, California, right on the base of the Foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. About a 20 minute drive west of Mount Baldy (post #50 above). Bad habits aside, at 3:00 a.m., I was having trouble sleeping, and decided to have a cigarette. At least I don’t smoke in the house, so I went into my front yard to smoke. I heard the most horrid squealing noise coming from the street, in front of my neighbor’s house. It sounded like someone had jumped on top of a rubber ducky bathtub squeak toy; it was so loud and shrill.

I walked to the sidewalk to see what the heck, I saw the fox with it’s mouth around the neck of a wild rabbit. Upon seeing me, the fox let go and took a few steps back. It lingered in the area, as it didn’t want to readily give up its meal. The rabbit was for all intents and purposes unharmed, but completely frozen in fear. It did not move from the spot for a few seconds. The rabbit eventually regained its wits and scurried off into my neighbor’s hedge bushes.

Living this close to the mountains, it is not unusual to see coyotes, rabbits, even bear and bobcat sightings get reported to the police from time to time; but I have never seen a fox quite like this one. I wanted to do an Internet search on it, and was led to this sight and your post.

It was definitely a fox, and it definitely had a black and white banded tail, like a ring-tailed lemur. I couldn’t find any images or listings of such a fox existing. I was no more than 10 to 12 feet from it. I was on the sidewalk, and the rabbit and fox were in the middle of the street right in front of me. It certainly wasn’t a cat with a ringed tail. Its body didn't look at all like images of coati, mink, or raccoons. It looked exactly like a grey fox, but with a black and white banded ring-tail.

[djune]

70. ring tale fox/coyote

We have one hanging around down here in Arkansas (Ozarks) exactly as you describe. It comes out in evening looking for chickens and rabbits. Thought I might find on Internet. Since I can't. Going to start carrying my camera with me. June 2015

[Mickie0209]

71. Michigan sighting

So like most everyone I came across this thread doing an image search of what was seen several years ago in Byron Michigan. At the time the Internet was not like it is today so I didn't do a search back then but the experience is still very much in my mind. What I saw had the body of a fox but seemed a bit taller, very streamlined grayish/ brownish body. With rings at the end of the tail, but not the entire length of the tail like a lemur has, about the last third of the tail maybe. The tail was very fluffy and very long. I was within 30 feet of it and it didn't seem to be startled just stood there and stared back at me for a good minute before it gracefully ditched into the woods. If anyone gets a picture of their sighting please post it!

[McPippster]

72. PA sighting

I am in northeastern PA farm country. I was catching not very good photos on a game camera and no one could tell if this was a really large cat, raccoon, coyote or fox. Around one AM while out with the dog today I spotted the reflection of eyes maybe 30 feet away. I turned the flashlight in that direction and finally got a full side view of the critter. I wish I had a photo but can only describe what I saw...larger than fox, not as large as our standard coy dogs, night color indistinguishable, furry all over except the head, longer fox like face and nose, short legs for the body size, tail as long as the body, tail was very fluffy with dark rings from its body to the tip. I still hope to see a better photo from game camera some day.

[Katethompson02]

73. NC siting?

So I live on 150 acres and 2 weeks ago my dog was on the porch barking, so I looked out and at the edge of the woods (where we have often heard lots of yipping, barking, howling) I saw what I thought was a coyote sitting there just looking at the house, and it was tall (as tall as my catahoula that weighs 45lbs?) but had a fox like face as far as I could tell? So then yesterday, I pulled into our drive and another similar coyote/fox was walking down our drive and ran off into a scrubby pasture- this time I saw its back retreating from 30ft away and it was really thin waisted, silver/grey. And it ran with its tail mostly tucked, but still, bigger than what I thought could be a fox? Then tonight, again, pulling into the driveway, it ran right in front of the car (I slammed on my breaks) and in the headlights, it definitely had a black ring or two on its tail, still taller than a fox (?), still silvery grey, running with its tail down and almost tucked but the tail didn't seem to be that bushy, not like a lush fox tail that someone would want to wear?? But definitely long hair/fur.

Is this the same thing ?? Also- I am going to stalk this thing down and take a picture as it seems to be living on our land?

[penpapercoffee]

76. Curious

What part of North Carolina? I saw this creature in Charlottesville Virginia in August 2013 and have never forgotten that keep looking for it every time I drive that stretch of road...

[smith1977melissa]

74. Raccoon tail fox bobcat in nh???

I have been searching for the answer to what I saw since seeing this very animal last Saturday around 4:30am, here in Epping, New Hampshire. It was exactly as others have said, visually and in behavior, it seemed as curious about watching me as I was of it. I was sitting outside in the backyard, and could hear something moving about in the treeline of the back field, also there was a sudden kinda weird stillness to the air, I grabbed my spotlight and immediately illuminated the fox sized animal, thick grey fur and was intrigued by the slender legs and ground skimming black and white/silver ringed tail ( looking just as a raccoon tail). It walked at an even pace outside my fence line and kept eyes on me. When it came to a patch of tall grass and bushes I could see it appeared to sit down and kept watch on me for almost half an hour. I kept shutting off the spotlight and each time I turned it back on the eyes still reflected back in my direction, and then it was gone. My boyfriend who was out in the front of the house reported seeing something run across the road into the woods shortly after that time. After googling and knowing that my first thought of a bobcat fox wolf hybrid theory is just unlikely, I am almost starting to think it's some paranormal creature or something because I don't have any clue to what else it would be.
Thanks for reading,

[penpapercoffee]

75. I'm so happy....

To know there have been recent sightings of this animal whatever it may be. It has captured my imagination and I cannot stop thinking about it since I saw it three years ago. I will continue to look for it and in my mind has become so mystical it's almost my new "spirit animal". Hoping to capture a photo someday but it's kind of funny that no one on this list has been able to either....whatever could it be?

[shredenator5150]

77. This Is The Closeset I've Found To It

I seen one two or three years ago. It was fighting with my dog in the middle of the night I assumed it was coyote I hit it with a spotlight it took off I ran it down in my pasture and got about two feet away from it when it looked at me I literally said WTF to myself out loud. It coward down similar to a dog but, it features where coyote/foxlike with a ringed tail it had a slight red hue to its tail. I was armed with a shot gun at the time and raised my gun to shoot it took a step towards me and snarled my light slipped out of my hand hit the ground and went out the noise of the light falling ,luckily for me, scared it away. I picked up my light tried to find it again I seen its eye shine in the woods I hopped the fence to pursue it wasn't that fast so I quickly caught back up to it. It was running from me but, it wasn't necessarily scared of me it seemed somewhat curious looking over its shoulder to look at me. It stopped running when I was about 20 yards from it I thought of shooting but it was near an area where I knew there were a lot of holes and burrows for it to go into. I fired a shot near it went behind a tree near the burrows and it disappeared from sight. I then ran to the house and got a couple of live animal traps with the intention of capturing it to show to the game warden and a local guy I know that auctions exotic animals to see if they knew what it was but, I never caught anything. I've searched online and asked around but, nobody seems to know what it is. I saw a program on a new species of Olingo that had been discovered and they showed some other related animals including one that looked just like what I had seen. They said it was an animal that used to be in the southern U.S. but, went extinct hundreds of years ago. I live in Oklahoma which was within the range they showed for it I forgot what the program was but in my searching I've found an animal that looks similar to it and it is a variety of Coati. So either it is a rare animal thought to be extinct or the extinct animal is a misclassified hybridization of two different animals thought to be impossible. This is the closest thing I've fount to it to date. http://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.0m7dfqkf15yLwV_fl72oGQEsDI&w=240&h=160&c=7&qlt=90&o=4&dpr=1.05&pid=1.7 http://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.pqGjXcgLnZwEEOSasF2rxQEsDh&w=223&h=167&c=7&qlt=90&o=4&dpr=1.05&pid=1.7

[TheBroker]

78. sighting in Indiana

First, to they guy who started this thread, I would urge you to find a popular forum that is not so difficult to post on (took me 15 min just to get to this point) can you imagine how many sightings you are missing because of the difficulty to reply?
So what I saw was a red fox, but he was bigger than a normal fox. He had a bushy tail and 3 (exactly 3, I'm sure of it) black rings at the end of his tail. So it was red tip, black ring, red, black ring, red, black ring...that was half his tail, the other half was red. That was the only black on him (the rings) and this is where I saw him. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2335647,-87.5161964,515m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en he ran across the road from the left (west) to the right (east) right in front of my truck. I had to hit the brakes to keep from hitting him. This was May 2nd around 3pm. This was during the rain/flooding we had, the Wabash river isn't very far away, I suspect he could have been trying to stay out of the water, but thats just a guess. I had heard the term "ring tail fox" somewhere and assumed thats what it was, but kept forgetting to look it up until last night. I then discovered that what people called a ring tailed fox was actually some little cat like critter that looked nothing like what I saw. This page was the only thing on the net that matched what I saw.
I only live 2 miles from that spot, this weekend I intend to put out my trail cams (I have 20 acres of woods) But 2 miles is a long way, so I'm not very hopeful.
Side note, I found a page that had maybe 10 different variations of a standard red fox, black, white, etc. I'm wondering if this isn't perhaps some rare genetic variation and it is indeed...just a red fox? Just a thought!

[TheBroker]

79. edit

google maps link did not show up right, you'll have to cut and paste, sorry

[April2017]

80. I've seen it too!

The same creature that's been described in all the previous post on here has now been spotted in Bardstown Kentucky. It has a head shaped almost like a fox and it's tail is big and fluffy with rings around it like a raccoon and the body is similar to a bobcat. I have a picture!!

[TexasTowelie]

81. Tasmanian tiger?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

82. No stripes on tbe body but thanks. Cool critter.

[TexasTowelie]

83. Supposedly extinct for about 80-90 years.

It would definitely be a find if you saw one in the USA.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

85. good to see you around

[Tuesday Afternoon]

86. -

[Kaleva]

87. Glad to see you are back!!

[PJammer]

88. This has to be it!

It sounds like a full grown "Ring Tail Cat" to me! They are native to much of north america and are actually not cats at all!!

Ring Tail Cats are more like a large raccoon or a fox in appearance. They have reddish/brown bodies and they have black and white or black and grey ring tails. I am sure the color of the tail fur could very to some extent.
They are a member of the raccoon family. Raccoons can get pretty large and if you catch one while he still has his winter coat.... its over with!!

[wheet22]

89. I've seen something that I could not Identify, and it seems to be the same description...

I am from Central Illinois just north of Peoria. In the summer of 2003 I was driving through my neighborhood heading towards my house, early afternoon... I live in a subdivision, that is somewhat rural, we are surrounded by farm fields and a wooded bluff... and I noticed a fox like creature standing in my neighbors yard acting like it was no ones business. Once I saw it I was amazed because I had never seen anything like it... I put the car in park in the middle of the road, got out and preceded to walk toward it. As I did it caught site of me and made a move for the culvert which was proximal to where it was. I came within 15 yards of it and got a very good look. It seemed to be a fox in appearance, but like one I had never seen or heard of. Its face was triangular in shape, almost over exaggerated in comparison to other fox faces I had seen and looked up there after. It moved with the grace of a fox... it put its head low, eyes set on me and made a dash for the culvert all the while keeping its head perfectly still eyes connected with mine. It's body and head were a variation of tans and browns in color with a long tail that was perfectly plush, and symmetrical. It did not have any extra fur hanging from the tail, it look manicured almost... perfectly round in shape and was banded in color black, white, black... with perfect separation in the color bands. I've heard that silver foxes can have banded tails and quite the variation in color etc. But nothing that I have found picture wise over the course of the last 14 years has come close to accurately depicting what I saw that day. Unfortunately this was before smart phones etc. so I was unable to pop my phone out quickly and snap a picture of it. I'm a decent artist and have debated trying to sketch what I saw, but have never gotten around to doing so... Its frustrating seeing something like this, trying to explain it to other people... only to get the responses that you've gotten... It could have been a coon dog, civet cat... etc etc. none of them even remotely look like it. some pictures of foxes with overly exaggerate triangular faces do,due to the fur pattern etc... but this thing was taller than most foxes I've seen around here and very lanky. Anyways, not that this sheds any insight as to what you saw, but just thought i'd share my story. Thanks.

[Kali]

90. Following some old threads around tonight due to photofuckit making some changes

[Misjudg69]

91. Omg I'm so glad you saw it

I just saw one tonight. It was a grey fox her in Redwood city, Ca. I couldn't believe my eyes.

[OKIsItJustMe]

92. Escaped Red Panda?

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=red+panda&iax=images&ia=images