By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

A Department of Natural Resources expert says they’re getting more data on a study of the decline of gray fox numbers.

Furbearer biologist Vince Evelsizer says they’ve been putting collars on the elusive animals when they are found in live traps. “We’re up to three collared gray foxes since the start of this project two years ago. So, it’s a low and slow burn with this project, we knew it would be,” he says. “That’s why it started off as a pilot project.”

He says it is encouraging that trappers and others have stepped up to help them collect data. “We’re getting more and more folks engaged with giving us reports of sightings. And so we’re going to continue trying to collar more gray foxes here this fall and winter,” he says. Evelsizer says the tracking data and sightings are helping them track habitat and habits so they can get a picture of what is happening to the animals.

“We have some pretty strong hypotheses or ideas about what may be leading to their decline, but we need to know what those are better. We need to , you know, have a better understanding of that,” Evelsizer says.

He says they’ve enjoyed working with the animals. “The gray fox has been a really interesting animal to work with. They’re fairly small — adults weigh ten to12 pounds — so they generally are very easy to work with compared to some other species of wildlife,” he says.

Evelsizer says the public, trappers and partner groups such as the Iowa Wildlife Federation have also become really interested in finding out what is happening with the animals.