(Photo by Christopher Furlong)

I was recently contacted about a family of foxes living on the Culver Academies grounds.  The concerned citizen was worried that the Academy was trapping the foxes out of season.  Per Indiana DNR, they are protected from hunting and trapping when the young are born and learning to survive.

Indiana DNR Trapping Season Dates

I called the Culver Academies Grounds Superintendent to ask if he was aware of the situation.  He said he did know of this young fox family and they were most definitely NOT trapping them.   They do have some live groundhog traps out, but these would not affect the foxes.

NOUN

skulk (noun) ~ skulks (plural noun)

1. a group of foxes

“the skulk howls away into the night”

I don’t know if this is a new skulk of foxes and in the past, they have just been shyer or if this is our own example of a what is happening around the world.  As people remain indoors to slow the spread of coronavirus, animals are taking over the empty areas.  

 According to CNBC “Peacocks stroll the streets of Ronda, Spain; a gang of goats wander around a seaside town in North Wales; a puma climbs down from the Andes Mountains into Santiago, Chile; and coyotes trot around San Francisco.” 

A few days later I received an email asking if LMEC cared about the wildlife or did we just monitor water quality.  I suspect this is another inquiry about the same foxes.  I thought this might be a good time to emphasize the mission of LMEC.

“Working toward the preservation of an ecologically sound Lake Maxinkuckee

and its surrounding watershed.”

While much of our work directly involves the quality of the water at Lake Maxinkuckee, anything that happens in the surrounding watershed is part of our mission. 

If you see something that causes you concern, feel free to contact the LMEC office.  Chances are if you are wondering about it, there are several other people wondering as well.  If I can’t help you, I will try to find someone who can.    As we keep hearing regarding the coronavirus “We are all in this together” but that can just as easily be said about preserving Lake Maxinkuckee and its surrounding watershed.