STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. —From Ozzie Avadlovic near Arbutus Lake to a regular evening dog-walker at Silver Lake Park, the conversation has turned to foxes. And you might be wondering: how do foxes fit into a food conversation? In a borough where backyard hens, outdoor cats and the occasional rabbit all play their part in the local food chain, foxes are suddenly showing up as the newest—and most visible—predators. They’re slipping into henhouses and trotting across lawns, startling owners of little dogs and playful cats. Their return raises a simple question for those of us at the top of that chain: what does this shift in who’s eating whom mean for the rest of us?
Red foxes regularly trot across Todt Hill Road and other quiet streets at dawn in the Borough of Parks. At dusk in the city’s greenest borough, those ruddy figures flit between dirt mounds in the woodsy backdrop. They’re skittish around humans—but soon there will be more of them, because it’s mating season.
A shrill cry in the dark
That shrill sound interrupting otherwise quiet nights—something between a cat’s meow and a dog’s yip—is part of the ritual. Foxes are most vocal around midnight, particularly during mating season.
Welcome to red fox mating season on bucolic Staten Island, where vulpine creatures now present themselves almost as regularly as a six-point buck or the occasional funk of a skunk.
In the past, many have wondered whether the average family cat is safe. As any typing student might have punched out on her IBM Selectric, the question remains: Will the quick red fox jump over the lazy dog—or will the fox simply eat it? And, most pressingly, will this thing bite anyone?…