Demographics Of A Protected Population Of Gray Foxes (Urocyon Cinereoargenteus ) In South Carolina

We studied demographics of a population of gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus ) that has been protected for over 50 years on the United States Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina. The percentages of individuals in the 10-, 22-, and greater than or equal to 34-month-old age classes were 37.2, 10.3, and 52.6, respectively. This differed significantly from age structure at this same site in 1954-1956. Sex ratio was biased toward females (58.7%). Average litter size was 3.6 plus or minus 0.2 SE, and the barren rate was 11.1%. The greater proportion of females, however, resulted in an overall per capita reproductive rate that was still comparable with populations subject to harvest pressure.