Watch this agile fox appear to float on air while feasting in tree near Texas border

Something akin to a floating fox was caught on video this week in southern Texas.

It was spotted in the top of a tree in Terrell County, near the Mexico border, and appeared to defy gravity by balancing on even the thinnest of limbs. The county is about 400 miles southeast of Fort Worth.

The Trans-Pecos Wildlife District posted the minute-long video Wednesday on Facebook and identified the light-footed creature as a gray fox. It appears to be gorging itself on berries.

A photo was also shared, showing the fox confidently standing on its hind legs in the tree, like a monkey.

“The fox is a member of the dog family (canid), but it still displays quite a few catlike (feline) characteristics,” the state’s Hill Country Wildlife wrote on Facebook.

“The fox also can assume the cat’s threat posture, standing with back arched and fur erect. ...So take a second look, it might be a gray fox and not a cat in that tree.”

Adding to potential confusion: Adult foxes are also capable of “short mewing cries and high-pitched screams,” Hill Country Wildlife noted.

Texas Wildlife officials said the fox had crawled up the tree in search of snacks, leading to jokes on social media about how everything is bigger in Texas: “Have you seen our squirrels?” one man joked.

“One jumped down from a tree right in front of me. ... Scared the wits out of me!” Ginger Hughes posted on the state’s Facebook page.

Foxes climb trees to escape predators, eat and rest, the Trans-Pecos Wildlife District posted.

Researchers at Texas Tech University say gray foxes have rounded claws that allow them “to ascend the tree trunk in a fashion like that of bears, and they are capable of leaping from branch to branch.”

“Foxes act like cats and have some of the same adaptations,” according to the Texas Wildlife Association. “Like cats, they use their long tail to balance; this is very important for the gray fox when moving along tree branches.”

This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 1:28 PM.