Photo by Mary Holland.
Red fox kits are born with charcoal gray fur. (Coyote, wolf, and other wild canid pups are also born with this color coat.) At about five weeks of age, kits lose their dark natal coat and grow a sandy-colored one, which matches the sandy soil of the den site. This new coat is crucial to providing camouflage as the kits start spending time outside the den. In early June, red guard hairs will begin to grow through the sandy coat, and by the end of the month the kits will display the bright red fur characteristic of adult red foxes.