Wisconsin Wildlife Update: Campus Fox & Coyotes, Keeping Wildlife Wild Initiative, White-Nose Syndrome in Wisconsin

Air Date:
Heard On The Larry Meiller Show

Larry Meiller finds out what the recent discovery of White-Nose Syndrome in Wisconsin means for our state’s bat population.Plus, the Department of Natural Resources’ new Keeping Wildlife Wild Initiative. Also, fun information about the foxes and coyotes that are living on the UW-Madison campus!

Featured in this Show

  • UW-Madison Hosts Family Of Foxes

    Wisconsin enjoys a diverse wildlife population that is spread throughout the state … sometimes, a lot closer to home than one might expect.

    This spring, a fox family has made their home on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and it’s causing quite a stir. In fact, David Drake, UW Extension wildlife specialist, said that there are a number of fox families living the co-ed life, but the one living on Linden Drive has attracted the most attention. Drake is also an associate professor of forest and wildlife ecology at UW-Madison.

    He said that the family originally had its den under the Van Hise building, but when that got flooded they moved to a better location close by. Drake said that the vixen, or female fox, has been sighted with eight kits or babies.

    “We tried to keep this secret because we didn’t want to bother the fox family, and we certainly don’t want people to get bit or hurt if they approach the fox too closely,” Drake said, “but the secret is no longer a secret, and there have been hundreds of people out looking at these animals.”

    To protect the foxes, and the spectators, Drake said that the site has been roped off, and signage has been put up. “It’s been a wonderful story because it’s a great example of how some certain species of wildlife are adapting to living in urban areas.”

    It’s also been a great reminder for people, Drake said that “we’re sharing this planet and this environment with a lot of wonderful, wilder species.”

    Drake said that so far, the vixen doesn’t seem bothered by all the attention. If she was, he said, “she could certainly move them to a less visible den if she wanted to.”

    Fox kits stay with their moms for about seven months, so Drake said that would take them into early fall. The estimate is that they were born in early March, because they were first seen at the end of that month, and it’s generally at four or five weeks of age that they first emerge.

    Sadly, the male fox of the family was killed by a car last week about four miles west of the den. “It’s unfortunate, but not terribly unexpected,” Drake said. “That’s what we’re guessing is the primary cause of mortality for these animals in urban environments: automobiles. And certainly, that was the case for the dad.”

    Drake encouraged people to stop by and take a look, but as the Van Hise Foxes Tumblr site advises:

    Please, if you do see these foxes or their kits out and playing, enjoy it! Watch them, giggle, say hello (from a respectful distance), even photograph them if you want. But don’t try to catch, hold, feed or harm them, or otherwise disrupt their lives. They’re our neighbors, near-dwellers, fellow creatures, and deserve our respect, care, and consideration.

    The UW-Madison School of Human Ecology is sponsoring a contest to name the members of the fox family.

    For those not able to come in person, here is a video to enjoy, as well as a collection of photos.

Episode Credits

  • Larry Meiller Host
  • Judith Siers-Poisson Producer
  • Jamie Nack Guest
  • David Drake Guest