By Staff
The other day my son-in-law called. "Hey, I'm calling to tell you what your next column will be." That's always welcome news because after a decade of trying not to repeat topics I'm constantly scrounging for ideas. The Great Outdoors is a big place but I'm beginning to realize it's not infinite. "Ya got'ta do it on a red fox," he said. "I just saw one go into a den behind the house." It disappointed me as much as him to remind him that I did one on foxes a few years ago. But then I was salvaged when he asked if the stories about coyotes killing foxes were true. The relationship between foxes and coyotes is new ground for this column.
I remember back when coyotes first moved into this area there was a sharp decline in foxes. Over at our Marcellus farm you always saw the telltale bee-line tracks of foxes in the snow but when the first coyote howls cut through the crisp night air the fox tracks disappeared almost overnight. There's not a lot of reputable data available on the interaction between foxes and coyotes. Both are secretive and largely nocturnal, making it difficult for the few that have tried to study how coyotes and foxes deal with each other. Their ranges routinely coincide for the red fox is the most widespread carnivore in the world. I was amazed when I saw one trotting along the shore of the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska but since learned that's home ground for them, too. The red fox roams all across North America, Europe, Britain, most of Asia and even parts of North Africa. It has also been introduced into Australia.
To answer my son-in-law's question, yes, coyotes have been observed killing foxes but to what extent gets more uncertain. It's well documented that there is an inverse population relationship between coyotes and foxes. That is, in an area where coyote numbers are high fox numbers are low and vice versa. Several reasons are attributed to this. Foxes normally go out of their way to avoid contact with coyotes so when coyotes move into an area the foxes abandon their territories. Also, coyotes and foxes share many of the same food sources, particularly mice and rabbits. Coyotes being the superior predator, they out compete the foxes for chow, forcing them to move on.
Lastly comes the issue of outright coyote aggression toward foxes. The most witnessed occurrences of coyotes executing their cousins are when the fox is caught in a trap. Only rarely do they eat the fox so it's not normally a food thing and I won't even entertain thoughts of mercy killings. However, a chained down fox isn't really a natural interaction. The best data I could find was a limited study by the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in North Dakota. They solicited accounts of coyote/fox interaction from wildlife researchers and came up with forty-two bona fide events of coyote and red fox encounters. In over 70 percent of these the coyote(s) immediately took chase and in many cases caught and killed the fox. However, there were also a number of instances where the coyotes were indifferent, showing no ill will toward the fox. In one account a coyote actually stood and watched two foxes mating for over 15 minutes then went on his way (a voyeur coyote?). There are accounts of coyotes seeking out and killing fox pups at their dens but also accounts of active coyote and fox dens within several hundred yards of each other.
However, it appears for the most part coyotes aren't willing to share their turf with foxes and don't hesitate to punish the offenders. This isn't surprising for there is always ill will between competing predators. Wolves readily attack coyotes and cougars, grizzly bears don't tolerate the presence of black bears and lions and hyenas are mortal enemies. Competition may be good for business but it's not welcome when earning a living in nature. Carpe diem.