Fox makes Merced College jog interesting

I was running around the track at Merced College yesterday and a semi-magical moment happened: I had my first close-up glimpse of a wild fox.
 
I know -- a lot of y’all are probably saying, "So what, big deal?" Well, as a guy who has spent much of his life in urban environments, seeing a fox outside of a zoo is pretty cool. I am the kind of person who just gets excited seeing a deer -- so you can imagine the impact seeing a wild fox has on me.
 
Truthfully, I saw my first wild fox about two years ago -- but that experience was kind of lame. I was walking my girlfriend's dog in Carlsbad late at night and I saw a fox leap over a park bench and run away into the darkness. I didn't really consider it a big deal because I only saw the fox's hind legs and tail -- and only for a split second.
 
The fox that I saw yesterday, however, was about six feet away from me, in broad daylight, carrying a gopher or some kind of rodent in its mouth. And it was staring straight at me. It would have been great if I had my camera with me -- but you don't expect these things to happen when you are running laps around the track.
 
I did a tiny bit Googling about the type of fox that I may have seen. Based on the photos online and habitat, I believe what I may have seen was a San Joaquin Kit Fox. But who knows. I could be totally wrong -- because I am far from a fox expert. But the fox I saw looked a lot like this:    
 
 

And no, it wasn't a coyote. I saw my fair share of coyotes when I lived in Orange County -- and this specimen was totally different. This creature was slender, kind of a grayish color with a white belly and a long, bushy tail. According to the entry on Wikipedia, the San Joaquin Kit Fox is considered endangered with a 1990 population estimated at 7,000.
 
As I said, I am not a fox expert -- so I would be interested in learning anything I can about the local fox population in this area. Has anyone else had any unique, local fox experiences they would like to share? If so, hit me back with some "fox tales."