In the wild and in the countryside, coyotes are not only bigger than red foxes, but they’re also higher up the food chain. They tend to push weaker competitors out of their territories and will even kill to protect access to limited food sources. So while red foxes exist in the same general area and may even establish homes at the periphery of where coyotes live, they rarely venture into the other predators’ domain.
In cities, though, it looks like they’re learning how to get along. That’s according to Drake’s latest study published in the journal PLOS One. Over the years, foxes and coyotes, like so many other wild species, have settled in the city, and they’re inevitably here to stay. Some animal species have adapted to thrive amid the human-dominated landscape of high-rises, fragmented green space, and heavy traffic. Now, at least in the case of these two wildlife predators, they may be changing their behavioral instincts to coexist with each other—thanks in part to the abundance of food. [...]
What they found went against what experts generally know about foxes’ natural instincts. As the fox moved closer to the heartland of coyote territory, their speed didn’t increase, nor did they change directions. “That suggested to us that they’re comfortable being around coyotes, and over a period of the time, it has gotten used to [them],” says Drake. “They know that, ‘When I encounter a coyote nothing bad happens to me, so it’s okay for me to continue.’” Similarly, their study also found a lack of aggression in the coyotes’ movements.
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