Skip to main content
Log in

The diet of coyotes and red foxes in Southern New York

Urban Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Coyotes (Canis latrans) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) are both generalist predators presently found in the Northeastern United States. This study aimed to identify major prey items of both species in suburban New York, investigate consumption of anthropogenic resources, and examine seasonal changes in diet. Scat samples were collected from 2017 to 2018 for coyotes, and from 2011 to 2012 for red fox. Hairs, feathers, bone fragments and other scat components were classified by comparison with reference collections. Logistic regression was used to determine whether season or location predicted the presence of various food items. The most common food items for coyotes were white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), found in 54.2% of samples, and cricetid rodents, found in 16.9% of samples. For red fox the most common food items were birds, found in 39% of samples, and cricetid rodents, found in 37.8% of samples. Anthropogenic waste appeared in 11.9% of coyote scat samples and made up 1.3% of the total weight of items recovered from samples. No anthropogenic items were found in red fox scat, nor were remains from threatened piping plovers (Charadrius melodus), known to breed in the study area. Seasonal changes in diet were not detected for either species. Overall our results show that coyotes and red fox in suburban areas of Southern New York are persisting primarily on natural prey items, and not being subsidized by anthropogenic food sources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adorjan AS, Kolenosky GB (1969) A manual for the identification of hairs of selected Ontario mammals. Research branch. Ontario Dept. of Lands and Forests. Toronto, Ontario, p 64

    Google Scholar 

  • Andelt WF, Kie JE, Knowlton FF, Cardwell K (1987) Variation in coyote diets associated with season and successional changes in vegetation. J Wildl Manag 51(2):273–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Angerbjorn A (1989) Mountain hare populations on islands: effects of predation by red fox. Oecologia 81:335–340

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baker K (2014) Seasonal variation in coyote (Canis latrans) diet at the San Joaquin River, San Luis, and Merced National Wildlife Refuges. MS thesis. California State University Stanislaus

  • Baker PJ, Soulsbury CD, Iossa G, Harris S (2010) Domestic cat (Felis catus) and domestic dog (Canis familiaris). In: Gehrt SD, Riley SPD, Cypher BL (eds) Urban carnivores: ecology, conflict, and conservation. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 157–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballard WB, Lutz D, Keegan TW, Carpenter LH, deVos Jr JC (2001) Deer-predator relationships: a review of recent north American studies with emphasis on mule and black-tailed deer. Wildl Soc Bull 29(1):99–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Beaulieu G, Austin D, Leonard ML (2014) Do nest exclosures affect the behaviour of piping plovers (Charadrius melodus melodus) and their predators? Can J Zool 92:105–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowler B, Krebs C, O’Donoghue M, Hone J (2014) Climatic amplification of the numerical response of a predator population to its prey. Ecology 95(5):1153–1161

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Breuer T (2005) Diet choice of large carnivores in northern Cameroon. Afr J Ecol 43:97–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunner H, Amor RL, Stevens PL (1976) The use of predator scat analysis in a mammal survey at Dartmouth in north-eastern Victoria. Wildl Res 3(1):85–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Bull JL, Farrand J Jr (1994) National Audubon society field guide to birds: eastern region. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, New York, p 800

    Google Scholar 

  • Cepek JD (2004) Diet composition of coyotes in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio. Ohio J Sci 104(3):60–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherry MJ (2014) White-tailed deer, coyotes, and the ecology of fear in a longleaf pine savanna. Dissertation. University of Georgia

  • Contesse P, Hegglin D, Gloor S, Bontadina F, Deplazes P (2004) The diet of urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and the availability of anthropogenic food in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Mamm Biol 69(2):81–95

  • Cook DB, Hamilton WJ (1944) The ecological relationships of red fox food in eastern New York. Ecology 25(1):91–104

  • Crooks KR, Soule ME (1999) Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system. Nature 400:563–566

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cypher BL, Kelly EC, Westall TL, Job CLVH (2018) Coyote diet patterns in the Mojave Desert: implications for threatened desert tortoises. Pacific Cons Biol 24(1):44–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Díaz-Ruiz F, Delibes-Mateos M, García-Moreno JL, María López-Martín J, Ferreira C, Ferreras P (2013) Biogeographical patterns in the diet of an opportunistic predator: the red fox Vulpes vulpes in the Iberian Peninsula. Mammal Rev 43(1):59–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickman CR (1996) Impact of exotic generalist predators on the native fauna of Australia. Wildl Biol 2:185–195

    Google Scholar 

  • Doherty PJ, Heath JA (2011) Factors affecting piping plover hatching success on Long Island, New York. J Wildl Manag 75:109–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Dumond M, Villard MA, Tremblay E (2001) Does coyote diet vary seasonally between a protected and an unprotected forest landscape? Ecoscience 8(3):301–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Fener HM, Ginsburg JR, Sanderson EW, Gompper ME (2005) Chronology of range expansion of the coyote, Canis latrans, in New York. Can Field Nat 119(1):1–5

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari N, Weber JM (1995) Influence of the abundance of food resources on feeding habits of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes in western Switzerland. J Zool 236:117–129

    Google Scholar 

  • Forman DW (2005) An assessment of the local impact of native predators on an established population of British water voles (Arvicola terrestris). J Zool 266:221–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Fortin D, Beyer HL, Boyce MS, Smith DW, Duchesne T, Mao JS (2005) Wolves influence elk movements: behavior shapes a trophic cascade in Yellowstone National Park. Ecol 86(5):1320–1330

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster DR, Motzkin G, Bernardos D, Cardoza J (2002) Wildlife dynamics in the changing New England landscape. J Biogeogr 29:1337–1357

    Google Scholar 

  • Garwood T, Ziobro R, Keene K, Waller A, Pauli JN (2015) Diet, habitat use, and size of an urban population of coyotes obtained noninvasively. Urban Nat 5:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Gehrt S (2007) Ecology of coyotes in urban landscapes Wildlife Damage Management Conferences --Proceedings 63

  • Gehrt SD, Riley SP, Cypher BL (2010) Urban carnivores: ecology, conflict, and conservation. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Gese E, Grothe S (1995) Analysis of coyote predation on deer and elk during winter in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Am Midl Nat 133(1):36–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Gifford SJ (2013) Ecology of coyotes on the Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico: Implications for elk calf recruitment. MS thesis. Utah State University

  • Gilbert MB (1985) Avian osteology. Columbia, Missouri Archaeological Society, p 252

    Google Scholar 

  • Gompper ME (2002a) The ecology of northeast coyotes: current knowledge and priorities for future research. WCS working paper no. 17

  • Gompper ME (2002b) Top carnivores in the suburbs? Ecological and conservation issues raised by colonization of northeastern North America by coyotes. BioScience 52(2):185–190

    Google Scholar 

  • Gompper ME, Kays RW, Ray JC, Lapoint SD, Bogan DA, Cryan JR (2006) A comparison of noninvasive techniques to survey carnivore communities in northeastern North America. Wildl Soc Bull 34(4):1142–1151

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosselink TE, Van Deelan TR, Warner RE, Mankin PC (2007) Survival and cause-specific mortality of red foxes in agricultural and urban areas of Illinois. J Wildl Manag 71(6):1862–1873

    Google Scholar 

  • Grigione MM, Burman P, Clavio S, Harper SJ, Manning D, Sarno RJ (2001) Diet of Florida coyotes in a protected wildland and suburban habitat. Urban Ecosyst 14(4):655–663

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris S (1981) The food of suburban foxes (Vulpes vulpes), with special reference to London. Mammal Rev 11(4):151–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Hernandez L, Delibes M, Hiraldo F (1994) Role of reptiles and arthropods in the diet of coyotes in extreme desert areas of northern Mexico. J Arid Environ 26(2):165–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Jedrzejewski W, Jedrzejewska B (1992) Foraging and diet of the red fox Vulpes vulpes in relation to variable food resources in Bialowieza National Park, Poland. Ecography 15:212–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamler JF, Ballard WB (2002) A review of native and nonnative red foxes in North America. Wildl Soc Bull 30:370–379

    Google Scholar 

  • Klare U, Kamler JF, Macdonald DW (2011) A comparison and critique of different scat-analysis methods for determining carnivore diet. Mammal Rev 41(4):294–312

    Google Scholar 

  • Koehler GM, Hornocker MG (1991) Seasonal resource use among mountain lions, bobcats, and coyotes. J Mammal 72(2):391–396

    Google Scholar 

  • Krim PM, Bashore TL, Kirkland GL (1990) Den site characteristics and food habits of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) on Assateague Island, Maryland. Virginia J Sci 41:340–351

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson RN, Morin DJ, Wierzbowska IA, Crooks KR (2015) Food habits of coyotes, gray foxes, and bobcats in a coastal Southern California urban landscape. West N Am Nat 75(3):339–347

    Google Scholar 

  • Leopold BD, Krausman PR (1986) Diets of 3 predators in big bend National Park, Texas. J Wildl Manag 50(2):290–295

    Google Scholar 

  • Levi T, Wilmers CC (2012) Wolves—coyotes—foxes: a cascade among carnivores. Ecol 93(4):921–929

    Google Scholar 

  • Levi T, Kilpatrick AM, Mangel M, Wilmers CC (2012) Deer, predators, and the emergence of Lyme disease. PNAS 109(27):10942–10947

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liccioli S, Bialowas C, Ruckstuhl KE, Massolo A (2015) Feeding ecology informs parasite epidemiology: prey selection modulates encounter rate with Echinococcus multilocularis in urban coyotes. PLoS One 10(3):e0121646

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Litvaitis JA, Harrison DJ (1989) Bobcat–coyote niche relationships during a period of coyote population increase. Can J Zool 67(5):1180–1188

    Google Scholar 

  • MacCracken JG, Hansen RM (1987) Coyote feeding strategies in southeastern Idaho: optimal foraging by an opportunistic predator? J Wildl Manag 51(2):278–285

    Google Scholar 

  • MacCracken JG, Uresh DW (1984) Coyote foods in the Black Hills, South Dakota. J Wildl Manag 48(4):1420–1423

    Google Scholar 

  • Magle SB, Simoni LS, Lehrer EW, Brown JS (2014) Urban predator–prey association: coyote and deer distributions in the Chicago metropolitan area. Urban Ecosyst 17(4):875–891

    Google Scholar 

  • Major JT, Sherburne JA (1987) Interspecific relationships of coyotes, bobcats, and red foxes in Western Maine. J Wildl Manag 51(3):606–616

    Google Scholar 

  • McClure MF, Smith NS, Shaw WW (1995) Diets of coyotes near the boundary of saguaro National Monument and Tucson, Arizona. Southwest Nat 40(1):101–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Meckstroth AM, Miles AK, Chandra S (2007) Diets of introduced predators using stable isotopes and stomach contents. J Wildl Manag 71:2387–2392

    Google Scholar 

  • MINITAB (2010) MINITAB Inc. (http://www.minitab.com/en-us/legal/). Accessed 24 Aug 2014

  • Murie OJ (1982) A field guide to animal tracks. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, p 391

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray M, Cembrowski A, Latham ADM, Lukasik VM, Pruss S, St Clair CC (2015) Greater consumption of protein-poor anthropogenic food by urban relative to rural coyotes increases diet breadth and potential for human–wildlife conflict. Ecography 38(12):1235–1242

  • Newsome SD, Ralls K, Van Horn JC, Fogel ML, Cypher BL (2010) Stable isotopes evaluate exploitation of anthropogenic foods by the endangered San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica). J Mammal 91(6):1313–1321

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostfeld RS, Holt RD (2004) Are predators good for your health? Evaluating evidence for top-down regulation of zoonotic disease reservoirs. Front Ecol Environ 2(1):13–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson BR, Benjamin LK, Messier F (1998) Prey switching and feeding habits of eastern coyotes in relation to snowshoe hare and white-tailed deer densities. Can J Zool 76:1885–1897

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson MR (1982) Predation on seabirds by red foxes at Shaiak Island, Alaska. Can Field Nat 1:41–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Poessel SA, Breck SW, Teel TL, Shwiff SA, Crooks KR, Angeloni L (2013) Patterns of human–coyote conflicts in the Denver metropolitan area. USDA National Wildlife Research Center - Staff Publications 1183

  • Poessel SA, Gese EM, Young JK (2014) Influence of habitat structure and food on patch choice of captive coyotes. Appl Anim Behav Sci 157:127–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Poessel SA, Gese E, Young JK (2017a) Environmental factors influencing the occurrence of coyotes and conflicts in urban areas. Landsc Urban Plan 157:259–269

    Google Scholar 

  • Poessel SA, Mock EC, Breck SW (2017b) Coyote (Canis latrans) diet in an urban environment: variation relative to pet conflicts, housing density, and season. Can J Zool 95(4):287–297

    Google Scholar 

  • Power J (2015) Genetic relationships, movement patterns, spatial dynamics and diet of the Eastern coyote (Canis latrans var.) in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. MS thesis. Acadia University

  • Quinn T (1997) Coyote (Canis latrans) food habits in three urban habitat types of western Washington. Northwest Sci 71(1):1–5

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2017) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.URL http://www.R-project.org/

  • Reid RE, Koch PL (2017) Isotopic ecology of coyotes from scat and road kill carcasses: a complementary approach to feeding experiments. PLoS One 12(4):e0174897

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Riley SJ, Decker DJ, Enck JW, Curtis PD, Lauber TB, Brown TL (2003) Deer populations up, hunter populations down: Implications of interdependence of deer and hunter population dynamics on management. Ecoscience 10(4):455–461

  • Saunders G, White PCL, Harris S, Rayner JMV (1993) Urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes): food acquisition, time and energy budgeting of a generalized predator. Symp Zool Soc London 65:215–234

    Google Scholar 

  • Seamster VA, Waits LP, Macko SA, Shugart HH (2013) Coyote (Canis latrans) mammalian prey diet shifts in response to seasonal vegetation change. Isotopes Environ Health Studies 50(3):343–360

    Google Scholar 

  • Sears HJ, Theberge JB, Theberge MT, Thornton I, Campbell GD (2003) Landscape influence on Canis morphological and ecological variation in a coyote-wolf C. lupus × latrans hybrid zone, southeastern Ontario. Can. Field Nat 117:589–600

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuman R, Cherry MJ, Simoneaux TN, Dutoit EA, Kilgo JC, Chamberlain MJ, Miller KV (2017) Survival of white-tailed deer neonates in Louisiana. J Wildl Manag 81(5):834–845

    Google Scholar 

  • Siemer WF, Decker DJ, Shanahan JE, Hudenko HAW (2014) How do suburban coyote attacks affect residents’ perceptions? Insights from a New York case study. Cities Environ 7(2) Article 7

  • Sinclair ARE, Pech RP (1996) Density dependence, stochasticity, compensation and predator regulation. Oikos 75(2):164–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Soe E, Davison J, Süld K, Valdmann H, Laurimaa L, Saarma U (2017) Europe-wide biogeographical patterns in the diet of anecologically and epidemiologically important mesopredator, the red fox Vulpes vulpes: a quantitative review. Mammal Review 47(3):198–211

  • Southern WE, Patton SR, Southern LK, Hanners LA (1985) Effects of nine years of fox predation on two species of breeding gulls. Auk 102:827–833

    Google Scholar 

  • Sovada MA, Sargeant AB, Grier JW (1995) Differential effects of coyotes and red foxes on duck nest success. J Wildl Manag 59(1):1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Statham MJ, Sacks BN, Aubry KB, Perrine JD, Wisely SM (2012) The origin of recently established red fox populations in the United States: translocations or natural range expansions? J Mammal 93(1):1652–1665

    Google Scholar 

  • Terborgh J, Lopez L, Nunez P, Rao M, Shahabuddin G, Orihuela G, Riveros M, Ascanio R, Adler GH, Lambert TD, Balbas L (2001) Ecological meltdown in predator-free forest fragments. Science 294(4458):1923–1926

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Toweill DE, Anthony RG (1988) Coyote foods in a coniferous forest in Oregon. J Wildl Manag 52(3):507–512

    Google Scholar 

  • Trocki CL (2010) Biotic synthesis of Fire Island National Seashore. Natural resource report NPS/NCBN/NRR-2011/292. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, pp 91

  • Wang Y, Allen ML, Wilmers CC (2015) Mesopredator spatial and temporal responses to large predators and human development in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Biol Conserv 190:23–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Wieczorek Hudenko H, Decker DJ, WF Siemer (2008) Living with coyotes in suburban areas: insights from two New York state counties. Human Dimensions Research Unit Publication Series

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the New York State Museum, and particularly Joe Bopp, for allowing us access to their collections and assisting in skeletal identifications. We thank Susan Antenen, for allowing and facilitating fieldwork at Rockefeller State Park Preserve. We thank the staff of Fire Island National Seashore for allowing and facilitating fieldwork there. And we thank Kerri Ann Matthews for her contribution to bone and feather analysis of the fecal samples.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michaela Peterson.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 17 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Peterson, M., Baglieri, M., Mahon, K. et al. The diet of coyotes and red foxes in Southern New York. Urban Ecosyst 24, 1–10 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-020-01010-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-020-01010-5

Keywords

Navigation