Greetings,

I signed up with I naturalist to help study and track the local canid (red foxes and coyotes) in Royal Oak Michigan. Red Foxes and Coyotes are spectacular creatures who have found their way into many urban communities. They thrive amongst human civilization because of their limited natural habitats because of human development and natural tenacity for adaptability. With more and more Red Foxes and Coyotes being found in cities, it is important for people to understand their behavior and discover ways to coexists with these Canids.

Red foxes are considered synanthropic species that benefit from human development. They utilize opportunistic hunting and are able to survive off anthropogenic food sources which helps them survive in cities. Red foxes are also an edge species that usually are located at ecotones where 2 different habitats meet (much like where a city meets a wilderness habitat) making cities located near woodlands or parks perfect homes for these spectacular animals. Coyotes are less synanthropic but still seem to benefit from the anthropogenic resources provided by cities. Both species of canid are wonderful specimens of wildlife and are typically nonaggressive posing little to no threat to humans. Considering how human development has displaced these animals, It is important to understand their presence and learn how to peacefully coexist with them because their adaptability will most likely lead to trends that show higher populations of canids in urban areas.

I hope to learn how these animals activity patterns are displayed in Royal Oak. By tracking where they are sighted, when, and how frequently, a sense of their behavior will become evident will help give insights into how the community can peacefully coexists with these species.