# Fox in ND



## FlashBoomSplash (Aug 26, 2005)

I was just wondering if people have been noticing a few more fox in ND this year. I dont like shooting Fox I kind of have a soft spot for them. But I guess if the population was high I would take a few. I called 3 in so far this year but I let them go. Thats the most I have called in for about 5 years.


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## LeviM (Dec 3, 2006)

I have also noticed the increase in fox numbers this year. Not just ND but central MN has seen an increase. Good to see if your predator hunter! Not so good if your pheasant hunter or raise chickens


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## lyonch (Feb 26, 2006)

In all the tournaments that i have hunted in, it seems as this year the fox are counting torwards something for the tournament and that there are more and more fox shot every tournament. the classic in dickinson recorded its very first fox kill in the 6 years it has been operating. there were 2 fox turned in for that tournament. Although they weren't worth anything to the tournament at least they contributed a little to the fur check.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Ive also heard reports this year of below average coyote numbers in certain parts of the state. It makes me think maybe the two are connected. We all know coyotes put a real damper on the fox numbers.


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

My fox numbers are deffinitely higher then ever this year.


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## eddy07 (Mar 1, 2006)

i have noticed that the fox are really starting to make a come back after the mange and other diseases they had a few years back, but with this many coyotes, they are bound to run the fox off into other areas


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

I have never got to call in a fox. I have only shot them while deer hunting. If I call one in I'm shooting!


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## ndm (Jul 22, 2007)

The mange outbreak was brutal on fox. They used to be all over the Red River Valley. I'm starting to see them more frequently but nothing like the good old days.

Fall Guy, find an area that you know has fox and then leave the howler in the truck. They don't respond real well to challenge barks.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Ya, the main reason were not seeing many fox anymore is because of the coyotes.

Coyotes got mange.
Fox got mange.
Coyotes rebounded from mange.
Fox started to rebound.
Coyotes ate fox.
No more fox


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## morel_greg (Apr 16, 2007)

Before this year its been quite a few years since the last fox I saw in SW ND. But this year I seen one near Dickinson while pheasent hunting and one in the badlands while turkey hunting. I also found a dead one while in the badlands.


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## ndm (Jul 22, 2007)

barebackjack said:


> Ya, the main reason were not seeing many fox anymore is because of the coyotes.
> 
> Coyotes got mange.
> Fox got mange.
> ...


We used to hunt fox back in the 80's, coyotes were tough to come by in Eastern ND. It was dry back then so farmers plowed every thing under. Lots of fox eating mice and gophers. CRP is what brought the coyotes east. More deer, more bunnies, more birds, and more food. Mange all but wiped out the fox before coyote numbers rose. We shot a coyote and a fox out of the same CRP field this year during deer season.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Doesnt matter how the coyotes got here, what matters is they severely supress fox poulations. Fox can and do survive in coyote country, their obviously here (and most of ND is now coyote country), but they sure dont flourish.

See lots of pups in june, but few make it to adult hood. Hit by cars, and eaten by coyotes.


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## FlashBoomSplash (Aug 26, 2005)

I used to shoot a lot of fox out east but I stopped after I helped raise a pup. One thing I noticed about shooting fox is they take longer to respond to a call than a coyote. The three that I called in this year took about an hour to come in and they were all in the middle of the day between 1:00 and 4:00. I am only talking from experience this year. I used to only hunt them at night with a red spotlight but you cant use them here in ND.


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## samwell7mm (Feb 5, 2003)

I saw a fox for the first time in several years near Alice. There used to be a lot more fox in the mid to late 90's but the mange really wiped them out. I also noticed less coyotes while pheasant and deer hunting in that area last fall too.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Just starting to see a few healthy looking ones around my farmstead the last couple years.

We (folks who live in this part of the county) leave them alone as we would like to see them come back. Unfortunately for the fox, the guys from town who hunt around here shoot them any time they come to a call.

So between the guys who shoot them and the coyotes who kill them any time they can, I doubt fox will ever make an appreciable comeback in NE Ramsey Co...

Fox make better neighbors than coyotes, who we give the business to every chance we get...


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

NDTerminator said:


> Unfortunately for the fox, the guys from town who hunt around here shoot them any time they come to a call...


I know what you mean. But I still shoot em in thick coyote country. Being a fox in heavy coyote country is like being deep behind enemy lines.....its just a matter of time before they get ya. And id rather get em rather than them become energy for a coyote.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Good discussion guys!


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