The process and expansion of urbanization is becoming an increasingly prevalent issue across the globe. Among the list of problems increased human-wildlife interactions creates, interactions with carnivores are one of the more serious. Some groups of carnivores, such as coyotes and red foxes, have begun to adapt their behaviors to better coexist with humans, whether that be through self-domestication or a more simple symbiotic relationship. However, the long term consequences and cascading effects of these new behaviors is unclear.

One British study published in 2020 focused on the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and their potential changes in behaviors of neophobia (fear of new things, or level of curiosity) and overall wariness of new and changing environments. The study notes that many British news articles and journals have discussed public discourse with the increase in red fox populations within their yards and common spaces, describing the canids as “bold.” However, they also explain that by continuing stereotypes of foxes being “sly” and “cunning,” it completely disregards the personalities that foxes (and many other animals) display, and causes more public issues in the long run. 

While this study is highly qualitative and variable based on scientists’ opinions, the methods for the study created very quantitative and concrete results. The mapping of the study area for six urban fox groups was tested through both radio-tracking and camera traps to identify the foxes’ territories and boundaries.

After firm boundaries for each group of foxes was determined, many smaller experimental areas were created in randomly selected gardens/yards within sparsely populated suburban areas. These areas were small circles cut into the lawns, divided into 4 quadrants: quadrant 3 facing the house, quadrant 1 being closest to the entry of the lawn (for the foxes), and quadrants 2 and 4 facing the sides of the yard. 

While results were conducted in batches to test seasonality (late November-early December 2014 and May 2015), the seasonality ended up not impacting the overall data (null). The recording equipment was to help provide identification of individual foxes (for personality and behavioral details) and for testing how curious foxes were based on the quadrants and areas they explored, in addition to a new or foreign object. To test wariness behaviors (“a response to a potentially threatening stimulus”), the study used garden twine that had been soaked in wolf urine. Figure 6 shows the placement of the foreign object in orange (neophobia test), and the placement of the urine soaked twine in blue.

The results were determined by how quickly the foxes would get to the food hidden with the new object, overcoming their neophobia, and the wariness related to the urine-soaked twine (all behaviors before and after this process were noted as well). The behaviors were described by specific standards and parameters as shown in table 2:

The overall results from both seasons of the study, with 2,127 visits from foxes, the classified “dominant” foxes were shown to have made more visits to the circle and quadrants than “subordinate” foxes. However, the dominant foxes would not explore nearly as much as subordinate foxes, leading to the conclusion that there is a strong relation between personality and neophobia and wariness. Additionally, while most of the visits were from foxes that were alone, these solitary fox visits also showed significantly more present behaviors of both neophobia and wariness, in comparison to foxes who visited the sites in groups. 

This data shows that the increased fox presence (or “nuisance” as depicted by public articles), is possibly being artificially selected for because of the availability of food, as many as 1 in 7 people put food out for the foxes. While the small complexities and details of fox personality and behavior were unable to be explored in this study due to scope and time, it opens the way for more understanding between human and fox populations. Especially in a time when more and more wildlife habitat is being encroached upon, finding ways to mesh big social and personal differences between species will become increasingly necessary. Conclusively, more research needs to be done on the intricate communities and the entire social network that occurs both with and without human intervention/interaction. This way, we can both reduce human-wildlife interactions and reduce the negativity explored by preconceived expectations and notions of various wildlife species.

Padovani, R., Shi, Z., & Harris, S. (2020, December 26). Are British urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) “bold”? The importance of understanding human-wildlife interactions in urban areas. Ecology and Evolution, Volume 11, Issue 2, Pages 835-851, https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7087