Bill and Carol Frizzell discovered a Gray Fox looking up at them from a sinkhole. Bill wrote, “Carol and I were hiking along the Point Arena Headlands on Sunday, July 19, and she spotted a Gray Fox that is trapped in a 10 to 15 feet deep sinkhole east of the Lighthouse on the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands. We went back the next day and the fox was still in the hole. It appeared healthy and alert.”

Gray Foxes are excellent climbers so it’s possible the fox wasn’t trapped. It might have been a mother fox with a den. Virginia O’Roarke, Senior Environmental Scientist for the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, took a look at Bill’s photos. She wrote, “Let me know if you see the fox is still in the sinkhole and starts to look skinny or sick, as I will reach out to our local wildlife rehabilitators to assist if needed. If the fox is actually trapped, placing a large, down branch into the sinkhole would be a great solution. The fox will climb out on its own.”

Virginia cautioned not to feed the fox or to encourage it out as that could be detrimental to the fox and possibly cause harm. She wrote further, “If you need at number to call in the future for such issues, you can contact CALTIP at 1-888-334-2258 or text a message to 847-411. CDFW also maintains a reporting website at https://apps.wildlife.ca.gov/wir.

The good news is the Gray Fox was gone when the Frissells went back to check.

Thanks to Bill for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

Foggy mornings followed by sunshine in the afternoons - that's the prescription for August, or as some call it on the Mendonoma Coast, Fogust.