By Patricia Houser
For Nature’s Sake
Red foxes are a sign of a healthy ecosystem in Connecticut. Photo by Deb Eccleston of CTAudubon.
Connecticut residents who have been out at dawn or dusk in recent weeks and may have spotted a fox in their local landscape can consider it a good sign. According to Connecticut wildlife experts, the presence of foxes in a neighborhood helps foster a balance of wildlife that benefits the entire ecosystem of plants, birds and other species.
Those healthier ecosystems, including parks and backyards, have benefits for human health. Among other things, as a 2017 New York Times article put it, “Foxes may be Lyme disease’s worst enemy.”
Two state scientists agreed in separate conversations that the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a welcome sight in our neighborhoods.
Brooks Pitman, a wildlife biologist with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, sees foxes as one of several species, including coyotes, hawks and fisher cats that keep rodent populations in check. As humans have expanded the size of cities and towns, according to Pitman, species like rats and mice have adapted to the new spaces while leaving predators behind.
Suburban landscapes also attract small animals like chipmunks, mice and shrews – all of which carry Borrelia burgdorferi (the bacterium that causes Lyme disease), as well as ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. There’s something about the smooth suburban lawns adjacent to brush and trees, says Pitman, that makes “a perfect little transitionary spot” for rodents and shrews.
Dr. Megan Linske, a scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experimentation Station, says people are discovering that “the greatest risk for contracting a tick-borne disease is actually in your backyard, an area that we call the peridomestic habitat,” as opposed to a sprawling woodland. Reflecting on the larger picture, Linske says the ecosystem of the Northeast as a whole is unbalanced, so when meso-predators like foxes show up it is helping to correct that balance.
Neighborhoods already sharing their surroundings with foxes will find tips for a healthy co-existence, including how to build a fox-proof enclosure for chickens, at the CTDEEP website.
For more introductory facts about the foxes we need in our communities, consider the questions and answers below:
1) True/False: Healthy foxes pose no danger to humans.
2) Foxes are most closely related to: a) wolves b) cats c) raccoons
3) True/False: It is normal for a healthy fox to appear out in the open at midday.
4)The average home range of a fox in Connecticut is: a) 8-11 square miles b) 5-7 square miles c) 2-4 square miles
5) True/False: In Connecticut, foxes only eat mice.
6) According to research, foxes help curb the spread of Lyme disease by: a) consuming all the ticks that attach to their own coats b) reducing the presence of disease carrying rodents.
7) True/False: Where a coyote lives, Lyme disease is practically non-existent.
8) According to the Nature Conservancy, the average lifespan of a fox in captivity is 10 to 12 years, but in the wild they live an average of a) three years b) eight years
9) Which of the following are sources of fox mortality in our area: a) road crossings b) rodenticide c) disease outbreaks d) habitat loss and fragmentation e) all of the above
Answers:
1) True. This is a direct quote from the CTDEEP webpage titled, “Living with Foxes.”
2) a. Wolves, foxes, coyotes and domestic dogs are all part of the Canidae family, with foxes belonging to the Vulpini branch that diverged from others 12 million years ago. A fascinating account of similarities and differences between dogs and foxes can be found at the website for the nonprofit Institution for Environmental Research and Education.
3) True. While foxes tend to prefer dawn and dusk times for activity, it is not unusual for them to be seen at midday as well.
4) c, according to the CT.gov.
5) False. While rodents are the main ingredient in a fox diet, according to the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, foxes are omnivores and will take advantage of a variety of food sources, including fruit fallen from trees and leavings from unsecured garbage cans. By consuming fruits, foxes assist in the dispersal of seeds through their waste, promoting plant diversity, according to the research site sparkmoor.com
6) b. In a famous 2017 study, researchers found that when foxes were patrolling an area for food, they consumed some mice and forced others into hiding. Tick larvae on the forest floor in those places were less likely to attach to the scarce mice for their first meal, and since mice are the main source of Lyme disease, most ticks in those areas never picked up the disease. The study suggested foxes reduce Lyme disease in an area by reducing the circulation of mice.
7) False. In 2012 Scientific American reported on a study showing a marked increase in Lyme disease in four states in the Midwest and Northeast at the same time that fox populations were disappearing from those places. The decline of foxes in those states also coincided with the expansion of coyote populations. The study showed that where coyotes increased and foxes decreased, rates of human illness with Lyme disease increased.
8) a. Three years
9) e. All of the above. There are a few others, including hunting and trapping by humans.
Patricia Houser, PhD, AICP is a freelance writer and researcher focused on environment and sustainability.