48 Nebraskaland • May 2021
in with five or more mice, shrews or
voles in their mouths, drop them off and
then return to the hunt. This 24-hour-
a-day effort is another example of the
commitment and teamwork of both
parents.
A few other fun memories include:
having the fox pups watch back-and-
forth in unison as my boys played
soccer; watching the parents hide and
bury mice to teach the pups to search,
smell and hunt; and certain pups like
the one we nicknamed "Floppy Ear"
that had playful personalities. There
was also the time the entire family
came out to meet another adult fox,
which I assume was a daughter from a
previous litter. All 10 foxes celebrated
the reunion, chasing and playing for a
full hour. That third adult fox stayed for
a few days and helped hunt and parent.
The pups usually show themselves
in March, and the family moves to a
new den by June. Foxes typically have
multiple dens, and it is thought that
they move from den to den to help
reduce the burden of fleas and other
insects in the soil of their natal dens.
The pups will disperse and look for
their own territories by late summer
or fall. Red foxes can reproduce at 10
months and typically live 2 to 6 years.
Captive foxes have lived more than 10
years, but few wild foxes would reach
that age.
The apparent increase in urban foxes
led to a research project in 2018-2019
by Kyle Dougherty, a master's student
at UNL. His objective was to study the
density and habitat needs of urban
foxes. I offered to help Kyle trap the
first fox for his project. Kyle had a good
trap design, and soon enough, we had
a male fox laid out on my patio for
measurements. We placed the latest
GPS collar and ear tags on the animal.
It was surprising how light and dainty
the adult fox was when we had it in
hand. The long legs and fur make it
appear larger than it is. With several
foxes around, it would be a few weeks
before I knew this male was half of
our fox couple. When the battery died,
Kyle sent a command for the collar to
release. That small ear tag remained,
however, allowing me to still identify
the male. The GPS collars showed that
foxes were keying in on open areas
like parks, golf courses and more open
neighborhoods. They were also more
active at night and in the morning.
Foxes have been in Lincoln for
ABOVE: A fox pup carries a vole dropped off at the den by one of its parents.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND BELOW RIGHT: A pup practices its hunting skills by stalking a
bluejay. SAM WILSON
