By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

In one Marion neighborhood, the fox population is noticeably up, and the rabbit population is noticeably down.

No doubt that’s because a well-fed fox family is finding a ready supply of food.

Foxes are seen in Darvin Markley’s neighborhood along Mud Creek every year.

Matt Peek, wildlife research biologist for Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks in Emporia, who identified a family of foxes living near Markley’s home as red foxes. He said they were common in urban areas where they find refuge from coyotes that would feed on them.

In towns, foxes feed on rabbits, birds, insects such as grasshoppers and locusts, small rodents, and food they are able to scavenge, such as fruit, cat food, and bird food.

Small pets in the vicinity could be in peril.

“They’ll eat cats, particularly small cats,” Peek said.

Peek’s said his main advice to people who find themselves sharing space with foxes is not to feed them.

“You don’t want these animals becoming tame,” he said. “It’s best to keep them wild and that is best done by not trying to tame them.”