Jeff Miller-UW Madison
UW professor David Drake, right, with a team that traps and collars coyotes to study their habits.
Fox and coyote are friends. It’s not a plot for a new Wes Anderson film. It’s happening here, in the UW Arboretum.
This rare phenomenon has been documented by the UW-Madison Urban Canid Project whose director, UW professor David Drake, says it is “highly unusual” for red foxes and coyotes to share territory; usually the larger coyotes will displace and kill the foxes.
Drake says project researchers, who trap and collar foxes and coyotes living in the Arboretum as part of their study, are fascinated by the interaction. And though they will continue to study the reasons for the aberration, he thinks the Arboretum’s rich ecosystem may provide the answer. “We think that there is such an abundance of resources here — they don’t have to compete for a limited resource like they do in the country.”
These omnivorous canid species consume mice, voles, rats, skunk, rabbit, squirrel, eggs from turkeys and geese, nuts, berries, and they might sample from gardens or trash.
The Urban Canid Project is ultimately interested in another kind of coexistence, one that historically has proven fatal for the non-humans (it’s legal to kill coyotes on your property in most states). “The coyotes certainly aren’t going anywhere. They’re not going to get up and leave the city, and the humans are not going anywhere. So we better figure out how to co-exist,” says Drake. Coyote attacks on humans and pets are occurring in other locales, such as Southern California, but he says there’s a simple solution to keeping the peace. “If we can maintain that fear of humans, then we’re going to maybe not eliminate all the negative interactions, but a good majority of them.”
Drake says scientists count themselves lucky to have the Arboretum’s 1,200 acres of forest, wetland, open water and prairie as a rich source for study: “I think the Arboretum is a wonderful urban laboratory, where you have this oasis of natural habitat surrounded by the human-modified landscape.”
The Arboretum is also home to fragile species, like the Rusty Patch Bumblebee (Bombis affinis) — the first bee to be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Arboretum ecologist Brad Herrick says the bumblebee is among 11 species of bees that have been identified in the Arboretum, many of which have been found in a small area around the visitors’ center. The gardens are densely planted with native wildflowers, providing excellent opportunities for education. “We really try to explain to people that you can grow these plant species and provide habitat for bumblebees in your garden,” says Herrick.
And while you have to look hard to find bees — and nocturnal coyotes are rarely sighted — it’s tough to miss the Arboretum’s turkeys. Herrick estimates that 50 to 70 live on the grounds, primarily near Longenecker gardens. “There is ample food for them and few predators to get in the way of them reproducing. They have large clutches of eggs. Coyotes will prey on turkeys but they aren’t easy to catch, even for a coyote,” says Herrick.
The turkeys are well-behaved, for the most part; they will dig through the mulch and roost in crab apple trees. “Until we have negative interactions, or see them really damage something, we’re really happy they’re here.”
The Arb is also home to frogs and toads; nine out of 12 of Wisconsin’s known species have been found on the grounds. “It is heartening to know that these habitats are clearly supporting this level of biodiversity,” says Herrick.
Of course, when it comes to birds, the Arboretum is a proven wonderland. Herrick says the Arboretum always has a couple of nesting pairs of sandhill cranes, and as many as 240 different bird species have been found here — 181 were reported last year. There are owls, beavers, weasels, mink, muskrats and even otters.
Says Herrick: “I think a large green space in the urban environment is critical for folks as a resource to learn about these native animals that are often literally in their backyard.”
This story is part of our Arboretum Issue. Read the rest of our Arb coverage.
