The animal above was Samson fox that was photographed in a field in North Carolina.
They also call it a “Sampson fox,” but Sampson is a last name.
The Samson fox is named after that particular character in the bible who loses all his power when he loses his hair.
This form of gray fox has been reported many times. It is almost certainly a genetic disorder that keeps the fox from growing its guard hairs, which would be a definite problem if it lived in a colder climate.
Supposed Samson red foxes have been claimed, but it seems to me that most of these are simple mange cases. Mange is very common in red foxes but is virtually unknown in grays.
If a gray fox looks like a bizarre greyhound, it’s a genetic disorder.
And in most of its range in the United States, it’s a fatal one.
It kind of looks like my seal-colored Italian Greyhound.
About the same size, too. They move just like cats. It’s easy to mistake one for a cat when you see it moving along.
It bears an uncanny resemblance to the more extreme modern siamese cats.
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El chupacabra! ;-)