Swift fox
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| ( Say , 1823) |
The Swift fox ( Vulpes velox ) is a species of fox that inhabits drier areas in western North America . It can be distinguished from the closely related kit fox , which also occurs in North America, by its smaller body size and the lack of dark stripes on the back.
features
The Swift fox is the smallest fox species in North America, is 74 to 82 cm long with its approximately 30 cm long tail and can reach a weight of 2.2 to 3.0 kg. Females stay a bit smaller at 68 to 75 cm in length. The coat color is light gray with an orange-brownish tinge on the sides of the body and on the legs. The throat, chest, abdomen and the inside of the ears are cream-colored. The tail is bushy and has a black tip. Both sides of the muzzle are blackish. Compared to the kit fox, its large, triangular ears are smaller.
distribution
The Swift Fox occurs in the Great Plains in central North America east of the Rocky Mountains from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan via Montana to western Texas and eastern New Mexico . The largest populations exist in Colorado , Kansas , New Mexico, and Wyoming . They disappeared from Canada in the 1930s, but have been naturalized again since 1983. The current range is very fragmented and comprises around 39 to 42 percent of the original range.
Way of life
Swift foxes occur in short grass prairies and deserts and dig their burrows into the sandy subsoil. The entire structure can be three to four meters long and have four entrances. They are mainly active in the evening and at night and spend the day protected in the construction. Only in the winter months do they leave their shelter around noon to sunbathe at the entrance to the building.
Depending on the season, swift foxes feed on all sorts of small prey, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects, and also consume berries. On the hunt and on the run, they can reach speeds of over 50 km / h.
In the wild, the Swift fox lives on average around three to six years old, while animals kept in captivity can live up to 14 years.
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Reproduction
The breeding season of the swift fox ranges from late December to March (March to May in Canada). During the breeding season, the Swift Fox is monogamous , but does not mate with the same partner every year. After a gestation period of 50 to 60 days, the female gives birth to two to six young animals that weigh around 40 g at birth. They open the eyes after 10 to 15 days. The young foxes are suckled for 42 to 49 days, leave the den for the first time after a month and are independent after about six months. Males reproduce at one year of age, females only at two years of age.
Systematics
For a long time it was controversial whether the Swift fox and the western kit fox ( Vulpes macrotis ) are two separate species or subspecies of the same species. Protein electrophoresis and older morphometric data (comparison between different body measurements) suggest one species, while more recent morphometric studies and comparison of mitochondrial DNA suggest two separate species. The genetic distance between both species and the arctic fox ( Vulpes lagopus ) is exactly as great as their distance from one another.
Both species are very similar in appearance and in their habitat requirements. Their habitat is separated from each other by the Rocky Mountains. A small zone of hybridization exists in eastern New Mexico and western Texas.
There are 2 subspecies of the Swift Fox:
- Vulpes velox hebes in the south
- Vulpes velox velox in the north
Danger
The swift fox was hunted heavily in the past, it is still shot today as a supposed coyote and is still threatened by habitat loss . The sharp decline in prairie dog populations also has a negative effect on the Swift Fox population, because it largely lacks an essential source of food. Its population is only stable in the core of the range. The IUCN nevertheless rates the species as Least Concern. In Canada it is protected and classified as endangered, the same applies to some states in the USA.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Rurik List, Natalia Garcia-Pena: Wild dogs . Ed .: Udo Gansloßer, Claudio Silleo-Zubiri. tape . Filander Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-930831-63-5 , Endemic Foxes of North America, the Swift Fox, p. 115 .
- ^ Paul A. Johnsgard: Great Wildlife of the Great Plains . University Press of Kansas, 2003, ISBN 0-7006-1224-6 , p. 68
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- Udo Gansloßer, Claudio Silleo-Zubiri (editor): Wild dogs . Filander Verlag, ISBN = 3-930831-63-5
- Roland W. Kays & Don E. Wilson: Mammals of North America . Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-14092-8
- Harold J. Egoscue: Vulpes velox Mammalian Species No. 122, PDF
- Resmer, K. 1999: Vulpes velox , Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 21, 2016
- Vulpes velox in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Moehrenschlager, A., Sovada, M. & Members of the IUCN SSC Canid Specialist Group - North America Regional Section, 2008. Accessed January 13, 2012 Design.
- Swift Fox - Vulpes velox . Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Accessed January 13, 2012
