There are five species of canids in North America, three of which are classified as endangered. The coyote, by comparison, boasts nineteen subspecies in North America. None of these are endangered. Foxes are quick, reclusive and above all solitary predators, and the smaller of the two. The coyote, on the other hand, hunt in unstable packs or in loose pairs, and have been known to snatch dogs from right under their owner’s nose.
Neither coyote nor fox is a naturally dominant species. Coyotes, in particular, flourish in areas where wolves have been eradicated, replacing them in a rougher, less disciplined capacity, and hunting similar prey, albeit less effectively. So less effectively, in fact, that human trash or domesticated animals make, like the coyotes themselves, for makeshift replacements of a bona fide counterpart.
Foxes also fulfill the ecological niche that damaged wolf populations leave open, but in a much more limited capacity. Foxes are not large predators. They do not hunt in packs, and so larger prey such as deer or pets are left alone. They could almost be described as modest: they live only where the environment can support them, occasionally and infrequently stooping to trash raids, and avoiding interaction with humans.
Neither one of them will inhabit the area of the other. They fulfill such similar roles in all their capacities, only their attitude seems to set them apart. In most Indian cultures, even the myths reflect this. The coyote is clever and tricky, like the god Loki in Norse mythology, often causing trouble that only he can offer a way out of. He is humorous but also greedy and desirous of things above his station, a capacity often offered to him by his wise, kind brother wolf.
The fox, by comparison, has a rich Eastern history, in which the kitsune can transform into humans and back. In Western culture they too are creatures of trickery, but opt for cunning instead of mere cleverness. ‘Foxy’ in the United States has come to be synonymous with ‘sexy,’ though indeed both creatures share an odd affiliation with sexuality. While the mythology of the fox is more subtle, he is much more entwined with man, appearing in many stories, recent and old, as a character incarnate, puns in the name notwithstanding.
Though they do not seem to have any confrontations, one can’t live with the other. Their roles are too similar. The fox inhabit the border-land, where survival meets dignity, if it could be called that. Flashes of red in the night is all that most see of a fox in their area, and usually there are plenty of rabbits, squirrels and other small prey around as a token of modulating behavior on the part of the fox. The fox will never use up its resources.
The coyote is much more intrusive, living wherever it can, among us and off of us, hunting like wolves occasionally but not wolves–fearless. If pets disappear, coyotes might be the culprit. It fulfills its own niche and encroaches on others, presumptuous of its place and ultimately all the more successful for it. With Brother Wolf gone, the coyote remains a creature of hunger and the freedom to seek it out.
But it will never live with a fox.
