NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1366387
46 Nebraskaland • May 2021 asking what animal could be making such a sound. Many think it must be a mountain lion. All of the recordings I have heard throughout the years have been the scream or bark of red foxes. Foxes can produce a variety of sounds, from chirps and quick, quiet barks that communicate with nearby pups, to the very loud scream that is used during their mating season and as a territorial warning. The first time I heard this scream, it was during the mating season, but I have also seen adults challenge dogs at a distance with this call when they approach their den. I had seen foxes in Lincoln many times before, often at the Commission headquarters on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus where habitat is plentiful. But in the last five to 10 years, the number of calls I have gotten about foxes in Lincoln and Omaha has increased dramatically. That is likely because the number of foxes has also increased; however, we don't track fox population trends in cities, so this is anecdotal. Harvest estimates from rural areas have trended down slightly over the same time, but foxes remain common statewide. Biologists believe that foxes are using urban areas to avoid being killed by coyotes. Larger canids kill smaller canids, from wolves to coyotes, and coyotes to foxes. It is like picking on your little brother, but it is a matter of life or death for the smaller canid. Foxes are adaptable and a little more tolerant of human presence than coyotes, so the trade-off of living in town and risking being hit by cars or chased by dogs is worth it. Coyotes are found in urban areas, too, particularly if there are larger areas of open habitat like wooded creeks or grasslands. But they are not found as often in tighter urban neighborhoods that foxes will happily use. The fox family moved in when my boys were just starting to run around the yard, and they have thoroughly enjoyed growing up with them around. The pups get used to us pretty quickly, but it took years for the adults to become relaxed, especially the female. I should point out that we never feed them, and we give them enough space to keep them wild. Each litter is different, and we have a few fun memories every year. My boys are now in a friendly competition with me to see who can spot the first pups of the spring — the tradition lives on. The next game we play is "count the puppies." This is much harder than you might imagine. For one thing, some puppies want to play while others just want to nap, so the count usually starts small and goes up as more decide to play at the same time. Even then, with all of the running, wrestling, jumping, hiding and fleeing, it is a pretty tall task to agree on a number. With the help of some trail cameras, we eventually get it figured out. The largest litter was seven and A male fox stretches after waking from a nap in a northeastern Lincoln park. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND