The adorable reason you might hear a sound like ’a woman screaming’ in your KC backyard
No, you’re not in a slasher film. That scream might be coming from one of Missouri’s red foxes, who are especially active during their peak breeding season in January and February.
While these urban-dwelling animals look cute, their blood-curdling scream is protection for their young, said Joe DeBold, wildlife damage biologist with Missouri Department of Conservation in Blue Springs.
Here’s why you might hear these adorable red creatures in and around Kansas City this winter:
What does the fox say?
If an adult fox senses a predator when their babies are around, the parent lets out a high-pitched scream to distract from their vulnerable young.
“A lot of times, it’s reported that ‘there’s a woman screaming in my backyard,’ because that’s what it sounds like,” DeBold said.
Red foxes also bark, sounding like a higher-pitched dog. During breeding season, male foxes bark to communicate with one another and show dominance.
Foxes only have a few weeks to reproduce each year, so they are active during that time. Keep an eye out for an increased number of animals in the road. These nocturnal creatures come out at sunrise and sunset, and occasionally during the day.
What do foxes eat?
Red foxes take whatever food they can get — including rodents, rabbits and even cats — but their favorite is squirrel.
“They really pound the squirrels hard,” DeBold said.
Missouri is home to two species of foxes — red and gray. The red foxes are more common in the north and west parts of the state and gray foxes in the Ozarks, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. You can tell them apart by their coloring and size — red foxes are slightly larger than their gray counterparts and have a white-tipped tail.
Why are there foxes in the city?
Foxes are happy to live in urban areas as development encroaches on their territory, raising their young under a deck, by a garage or near a swimming pool, DeBold said. The biologist said that the red fox population in Missouri is strong in the city because they lack their main predator — the coyote. While coyotes need to make dens in green spaces, foxes live right in neighborhoods, DeBold said. This leaves the foxes with exclusive access to all the prey the city can offer, without competition from coyotes.
In rural areas, red foxes live on the borders of woods and fields.
Did you know these fun fox facts?
Here are three fun facts about foxes, according to the department of conservation:
- While red foxes are related to dogs, they can behave like cats — stalking, pouncing and walking on their toes.
- Foxes can make sounds that spans five octaves, the same range as Mariah Carey.
- They have good hearing and can sense prey digging underground, helping them to hunt.
Do you have more questions about roads in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
