Living with Red Foxes

The resilient red fox thrives in a wide array of environments, including human-modified landscapes such as cities and residential areas. Remarkably versatile, red foxes can inhabit nearly any environment that provides sufficient food resources and shelter. They are one of Canada’s most widespread mammals as they are found in every province and territory. Their extraordinary adaptability has facilitated extensive range expansions across North America over hundreds of years.

Red foxes have an omnivorous diet, consuming a wide array of animals and plants. Their eating habits vary considerably depending on the season and availability of food. They are adept hunters, and the bulk of their diet consists of a variety of small mammals such as voles, mice, rats, squirrels, and rabbits, as well as birds. Equipped with their notably large ears, red foxes excel at detecting and capturing small prey concealed within dense foliage, leaf litter, or snow.  In the spring and summer, foxes supplement their diet with eggs, amphibians, vegetation, fruits, nuts, insects, and carrion. They will frequently bury or stash away surplus food for later – this is called “caching”.

Foxes serve a multifaceted and valuable ecological role within urban environments. One significant aspect of their contribution is their role as regulators of local wildlife populations. As opportunistic predators, foxes help maintain balance by controlling populations of smaller mammals like rodents and rabbits. This management indirectly supports plant diversity, as excessive herbivore populations can cause damage to vegetation and disrupt local ecosystems. Furthermore, foxes effectively hunt small mammals often considered pests, mitigating their impact on residential and agricultural areas.

While it’s recognized that human expansion can be detrimental to wildlife, certain species can benefit from the development of human-inhabited areas, and red foxes are a notable example of this! Red foxes belong to a category known as “synanthropic species,” which thrive in close proximity to humans and directly benefit from human-modified environments such as our gardens, yards, cemeteries and parks, as well as the surplus of food sources they offer. In their natural habitat, foxes occupy the transitional area between ecosystems known as an “ecotone.” These ecotones, such as the transition from woodlands to grasslands, offer foxes a wide array of resources crucial for their survival.

Urban environments, such as residential neighbourhoods, offer a variety of resources akin to those found in natural habitats. These include human-made shelters, ravines, ponds, and travel corridors like roads, railroads, or hydro fields. Additionally, lawns and fields of grass meeting forested areas or green spaces provide similar resources as natural ecotones between forests and meadows. Most prominently, staying close to humans offers an additional advantage for foxes: access to abundant food resources in the form of our food waste and the rodents it attracts, and our intentional feeding of wildlife. Unintentionally, we’ve created ideal environments for these synanthropic species to flourish!

Seeing a fox in your yard or around your neighbourhood is a common occurrence and isn’t a cause for concern; it could simply be part of the fox’s routine within their territory. Red foxes are naturally small (~7-11 lbs), elusive, and shy creatures. Red foxes do not perceive humans or their children as either prey or as something they can take on, thus they do not pose a threat to humans. A healthy fox that hasn’t become accustomed to humans will typically steer clear of approaching people or the pets with them, as they prefer to avoid confrontation altogether.

While most dogs are not at risk of being attacked by a fox unless the dog poses a threat to a den or babies, they should still not be left unattended outdoors as they may encounter various dangers. Interacting with wildlife presents one of these risks. Small dogs, especially toy breeds and puppies, can become targets for a variety of predators, including foxes, if left unattended in open areas.

To avoid potential conflicts, it’s advisable to keep your dog on a non-retractable leash no longer than 3 feet or 1 meter when walking. If you witness a fox during your walk, promptly move on without allowing your dog to bark at or chase them. While foxes prefer to flee rather than engage in confrontation, they may defend themselves if pursued, cornered, or if they perceive their babies to be at risk. Taking proactive measures contributes to maintaining a peaceful relationship between domestic dogs and foxes in shared environments.

Implement a tactic called Aversive Conditioning. This involves specific actions to make the foxes uncomfortable, discouraging their presence. (Read on for more details.)

No.  Trapping, relocating, or killing foxes is unethical, cruel and ineffective. Leghold traps or snares are inhumane and can catch unintended victims like children, pets and other wild animals, and foxes are notoriously difficult to catch via a net or box trap, especially if they’re healthy.

While relocating wildlife is often perceived as the “humane” option, it typically amounts to a death sentence for the animal being relocated, including foxes. Many individuals believe that wild animals can adapt to any environment and assume that relocating them to what appears to be a more “natural” habitat will benefit them. However, the reality is quite different. Most wildlife species have specific home ranges to which they are well adapted, and foxes are no exception. When relocated to unfamiliar territory, foxes will often attempt to return to their original home, leading to tragic outcomes such as being struck by vehicles or succumbing to territorial conflicts with established predators like coyotes in the new area. Additionally, the removal of nuisance wildlife frequently results in the separation of parents from their young, exacerbating the situation.