Both foxes live throughout Missouri. The red fox is more common, however, in the northern part of the state and the gray fox in the southern. In the last three decades, the red fox population has declined while the gray fox population has remained more stable. Habitat and home. Red foxes prefer the borders of forested areas and adjacent open lands while gray foxes live in wooded areas and fairly open brushland.
Gray foxes make dens in hollow logs, hollow trees, under rock piles, or occasionally in the ground.
These dens are filled with grass, leaves or shredded bark. During most of the year, red foxes sleep on the ground in a convenient, sheltered spot. During the breeding season, though, they provide a den for the young. This is often a modified woodchuck burrow but may be dug by the female fox. Dens may be on the sunny side of a hill or bank in an open field, along a fence row, at the edge of timber or in a natural rock cavity.