A researcher has found plenty of red fox and coyotes to study in urban settings, namely Madison.
David Drake is associate professor and wildlife specialist at UW-Madison. He says they're catching and radio collaring fox and coyotes inside Madison then releasing them. He says they're also checking to see what diseases or parasites they have been exposed to. He says they're also checking what risk coyotes and red fox pose to their cousins, domesticated dogs...
"....we're looking at, generally, how these animals are moving through the urban landscape and understand ways we can pro-actively head off conflicts before they get a head start...."
Drake says it isn't surprising that a population of coyotes and fewer red fox move through an urban setting like Madison. He says domesticated dogs live there and we don't think much of it. He says they don't know how many red fox or coyotes live in Madison, but he says that's a next step in his research. He says while there are problems between the wild and domesticated animals, they generally peacefully coexist in the urban landscapes.
Drake spoke at UW-Madison's Kemp Natural Resources Station in Tomahawk last night. More information on Drake's research is on the Facebook page UW Urban Canid Project.
