May 2021 • Nebraskaland 47
the smallest was four. Those numbers
are pretty typical for red foxes. With
seven pups in the den, it is pretty easy
to understand why the female would
slink off to the park for a nap when she
needs some "me time."
Both coyotes and foxes have plenty
to eat in town. They take advantage of
common roadkill like squirrels, rabbits
and robins, but also hunt those same
species plus mice, voles, moles, ground
squirrels and other species. Foxes are
carnivores, but do eat plants and will
happily eat pet food or discarded human
food that they find. We have seen the
foxes bring all kinds of food, from blue
jays to hotdogs, into our yard. One of
the nice parts about having the foxes
around is that they have kept rabbits
out of my garden, something several
varieties of "rabbit proof" fences have
failed to do. When the pups are growing
and hungry, the parents take turns
hunting and pup sitting day and night.
It is not uncommon to see them come
University of Nebraska-Lincoln students Katelin Nelson and Kyle Dougherty and professor Elizabeth VanWormer take blood
samples prior to attaching a radio collar to a male red fox trapped in the author's backyard. Dougherty was researching fox
density and habitat selection in Lincoln. SAM WILSON
A fox lets one of her pups nurse while others wait their turn. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
