in Prince Edward Island

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) population in urban areas of Prince Edward Island, such as Charlottetown, has sky-rocketed in recent years. This movement into urban areas where the population is thriving is largely due to the presence of coyotes (Canis latrans) on the island. The coyote made its way across the winter ice to PEI in 1983. With no natural predators to control the population, coyotes doubled their numbers annually in the 1980's and 1990's. One of the major prey items of the coyote is the red fox. The presence of this new predator drove foxes into urban areas. Not only did urban areas offer foxes protection from their main predator, they also provided them with easy access to new food sources that were not commonly exploited by the red fox until this time.

 

Unfortunately, there has been little effort put into educating the public on how to deal with living in close quarters with species of wildlife, such as the red fox. This lack of awareness leads to many issues that have negative effects for humans, pets, and the red fox. Feeding foxes has become common practice in urban areas of PEI. This practice is not only dangerous to humans, it is detrimental to the red fox as a species. 

 

This website is dedicated to educating the general public of PEI about the negative impacts of feeding foxes and how to live alongside wildlife in the best and safest way possible.     

Directed Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island:

 

Canid Ecology and Behaviour (BIO 442)

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