Tree Cover Helps Gray Foxes Coexist with Coyotes in the Country
For immediate release ‐ March 21, 2022
Contact: Jonathan Pishney, 919.707.8083. Images available upon request
A new paper from Roland Kays and Arielle Parsons (who also works in the Biodiversity Lab) has been published today: As coyotes have spread outside their native range into the eastern United States, they’ve been known to harass and kill North Carolina’s two native species of fox. A new study finds that preserving tree cover may be essential in helping the gray fox survive with coyotes in rural areas, probably because of the fox’s unusual ability to climb trees. In the study, researchers used camera traps to find out where gray foxes coexist with coyotes in suburban, rural or wild areas of North Carolina. Surprisingly, they found gray foxes can coexist with coyotes in suburban forest fragments. However, in rural zones, they avoid areas where coyotes live that lack adequate tree cover.
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