Duane Etter

According to Duane Etter, wildlife research specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, sightings might be on the rise and one reason could be another canine - coyotes.

"Red foxes have to be cautious of coyotes," Etter said, adding that foxes are prey for coyotes.
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In the case of Howell's foxes, Etter said it may be they came so close in an effort to avoid coyotes in the general area.
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Etter said foxes will often use abandoned dens or even kill an animal and use its den.
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Etter said it is not necessarily uncommon for foxes to come as close to a human dwelling as Howell's clan did.It may be explained by encroaching coyotes, an attractive den, or the possibility that someone in the area had been feeding them.

Don't feed the fox

Etter said foxes, while leery of people, will tolerate their presence, especially if they have kits.But at no time should one allow a fox, or other wild animal, to approach them at close range.

"A wild fox can carry lots of diseases that are not good for humans or pets," Etter said.

"And if you feed them, you are actually increasing their chance of dying, because they'll become less wary of people."

Foxes are game animals in Michigan and can be hunted and trapped.

The population of foxes statewide is "stable to slightly declining," Etter said.

The DNR only concentrates on state population trends for animals such as foxes.

"Population numbers are difficult to establish because foxes are a secretive species," Etter said.

According to DNR Wildlife Research Specialist Duane Etter, one of last summer's kits may well have returned to the den.

"If they've been successful raising a litter in one place, they will typically stay in the same area," Etter said.