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Red Foxes and Stone Martens Share Places at Different Times

Stone Marten in Drenthe, Netherlands
Research: Ecology, Behaviour

Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and stone martens (Martes foina) can find food in the same areas, but foxes can also pose a danger to the smaller martens. A study in central Spain suggests that martens can live alongside foxes by using shared places at somewhat different times.

The researchers used camera traps at 24 locations in Mediterranean landscapes, covering both warm and cold seasons. They also monitored small rodents and European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), important prey in this carnivore community.

Martens did not stay away from areas used by foxes. Instead, their estimated probability of using a site was about 75 percent where foxes were present, compared with 29 percent where foxes were absent.

Different daily schedules

Sharing places did not mean being equally active at every hour. The species’ daily activity patterns differed more where both were abundant. The researchers identify these differences as an important way for martens to reduce their risk of encountering foxes without giving up the places they use.

Timing also matters for finding food. Martens were usually active at much the same times as small rodents. Where fox and rodent activity matched more closely, however, martens’ activity was less closely aligned with that of the rodents.

This points to a trade-off for martens: being out when prey are active creates hunting opportunities, but can also increase the chance of meeting a fox. The researchers regard this temporal niche partitioning as an important explanation for how these two carnivores share the landscape.

Sources and image credit

  1. Martin-Garcia, S., Rodríguez-Recio, M., Hernandez-Hernandez, J., & Virgós, E. (2026). Spatio-Temporal Mechanisms of Coexistence Between Two Generalist Mesocarnivores, the Red Fox and the Stone Marten. Journal of Zoology.Primary research article first published 21 September 2026. Camera-trap surveys at 24 locations in the central Iberian Peninsula were used to analyse spatial occupancy and temporal activity of red foxes, stone martens and major prey across cold and warm seasons.

Image: Stone Marten (Martes foina) in Drenthe, the Netherlands, 8 April 2026. Photo: Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia Commons. Representative image; not a study animal. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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