Tag: Canine

Fennec Fox

The fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is a small crepuscular fox native to the deserts of North Africa, ranging from Western Sahara and Mauritania to the Sinai Peninsula. 

While its huge ears are incredibly useful for hearing insects below ground, they also fulfil an essential need, of being an easy way for the fox to radiate heat.

The fennec is the smallest fox species. Its coat, ears, and kidney functions have adapted to the desert environment with high temperatures and little water. It mainly eats insects, small mammals and birds. The fennec has a life span of up to 14 years in captivity and about 10 years in the wild. Its main predators are the Verreaux’s eagle-owl, jackals and other large mammals.

Fennec families dig out burrows in the sand for habitation and protection, which can be as large as 120 m2 (1,300 sq ft) and adjoin the burrows of other families. Precise population figures are not known but are estimated from the frequency of sightings; these indicate that the fennec is currently not threatened by extinction. Knowledge of social interactions is limited to information gathered from captive animals. The fennec’s fur is prized by the indigenous peoples of North Africa, and it is considered an exotic pet in some parts of the world.

Its name comes from the species’ Arabic name: fanak 

Red Fox

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere, plus parts of North Africa. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been introduced to Australia, where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included on the list of the “world’s 100 worst invasive species”. It should be noted, that humans have usually been either the direct cause of red foxes invading a new country, or have allowed them to migrate as a result of climate change.

The red fox originated from smaller-sized ancestors from Eurasia during the Middle Villafranchian period, and colonised North America shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation. Among the true foxes, the red fox represents a more progressive form in the direction of carnivory. Apart from its large size, the red fox is distinguished from other fox species by its ability to adapt quickly to new environments. Despite its name, the species often produces individuals with other colourings, including leucistic and melanistic individuals. Forty-five subspecies are currently recognised, which are divided into two categories: the large northern foxes and the small, basal southern grey desert foxes of Asia and North Africa.

Swift fox

The swift fox (Vulpes velox) is a small light orange-tan fox, with a similar size to a domestic cat. They are found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. It also lives in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, where it was previously extirpated. It is closely related to the kit fox (V. macrotis) and some mammalogists classify them as the same species.

Pale fox

The pale fox (Vulpes pallida) is a species of fox found in the band of African Sahel from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east. It is one of the least studied of all canid species, in part due to its remote habitat and its sandy coat that blends in well with the desert-like terrain.

There are 5 recognized sub-species.

It is found in the semi-arid Sahelian region of Africa bordering the Sahara Desert, from Mauritania and Senegal via Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad to the Red Sea. The southern border of its range extends to the savanna zones of northern Guinea. It is also present in Benin, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Sudan. The habitat is sandy or stony arid terrain, and the pale fox is able to relocate southwards and northwards in relation to the periodic droughts that affect these regions.

Although the density of the pale fox is unknown, it seems to be a common species throughout its wide range. No particular threats have been identified although this fox is sometimes hunted in retaliation on raids on villages and predating poultry, and it is sometimes killed by vehicles at night. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of “least concern”.

Kit fox

The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) is a fox species that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. These foxes are the smallest of the four species of Vulpes occurring in North America and are among the smallest of the vulpines worldwide. It has also been called a North American counterpart of the fennec fox due to its large ears.

It has been suggested that this fox is the same species as the Swift fox – though genetic analysis suggests that this is not the case. It has also suggested that, due to its ears, this is essentially the American Fennec fox

The endangered San Joaquin kit fox is a recognized subspecies. It is found in around 8 states in the USA. Its population has been depressed, in parts of its range – as a result of the extinction of the wolf in California. As a result of this local extinction, there is far less predation on the coyote, which has lead to the coyote eating more of these kit foxes.

Corsac Fox

Corsac foxes are found  in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts in central Asia, ranging into Mongolia and northern China. Since 2004 it has been listed as least concern. However, its population fluctuates wildly with history of its population dropping ten times over in a single year.

Blanford’s fox

This small fox is native to central Asia and the middle east. It should be noted, that it is named for its British discoverer, but has a wide variety of other names including Afghan fox, royal fox, dog fox, hoary fox, steppe fox, black fox, king fox, cliff fox or Baluchistan fox

Blanford’s fox

Once only known from southwest Asia, this species was reported in Israel in 1981 and was later found to be more widespread in the Arabian Peninsular. Peters and Rödel (1994) reviewed the available distribution records of this species and presented, for the eastern part of the range, what they considered to be definitive records from around the Iranian Plateau in Iran, Turkmenistan and Pakistan, with more doubtful records (usually based on skins collected from fur bazaars or otherwise indirectly) from Afghanistan and Tajikistan (though there is no such record).

There are also now confirmed records in the middle east from Jordan, the Sinai Peninsular (Egypt), Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. They have long been suspected of occurring in Yemen and have been reported at an altitude of about 1,200 m above sea level in Hawf Forest Al Mahre Governorate, in the far east of Yemen, near the border with Oman. It also seemed possible that they may have lived in western Yemen, where the mountains in southwestern Arabia were contiguous, and the camera trapping record in February 2014 in Wadi Sharis inHajjah Governorate, NW of Sana’a, now confirms their existence. There is a single record from Egypt, west of the Suez canal, of an animal captured in 1988, originally believed to be Vulpes rueppellii. There are no verified documents from here, but they may have existed.

At the current time, there is little directed persecution, and they are thought to have healthy populations across the middle east.

It was also sighted in northern Saudi Arabia[8] and in the Western Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah.[9] In 2019, it was spotted in Jebel Hafeet, United Arab Emirates.

Cape fox

Cape fox

Also called assa, Cama fox and silver backed fox, it is a small species of fox native to Southern African – it is sometimes called the South African version of the Fennec fox. It is the only animal from the genus Vulpes in Africa South of the equator.

It is nocturnal, most active just before dawn, or just after dusk. Mostly found alone, when they pair to breed, they often look for food together. They are opportunistic eaters, eating almost anything they find. This includes everything from carrion and human waste food, to fruit and vegetables to, and a whole range of rodents, hares, rabbits, reptiles and insects. They have also been known to hunt animals as large as steenboks. They have been found to have 16% of their stomach contents being sheep. It is thought, however, that they would only be able to take small lambs under 3 months old, or are eating dead sheep as carrion.

There are lions who will actively hunt them, while a range of animals such as honey badgers and leopards will eat one if they come across it. Black backed jackals have also been known to eat them.

Bat-eared fox

Bat-eared foxes are hard to mistake due to their huge ears, which allow them to hear insects under the ground.

Bat-eared fox

The bat-eared fox, like many so called species of fox is not a true fox, but actually comes from the Genus Otocyon. Recent work genetic work has allowed them to be placed (with reasonable confidence) as sister clade to Nyctereutes (racoon dogs) and Vulpes – the true foxes.

There are two subspecies, one which exists in Southern Africa, and the other which inhabits east Africa, however these are not different enough to be separate species. As you can see from the map, these two populations are not split by a huge distance and it is quite possible that at one time they were one super population.

They are found in the Kruger, though only seemed to arrive in recent times.

Below is a video of this species. Below that is a list of any blog posts which mention this species.

Beneath both of this, we are eager to list any places where you can see this species in the wild. Should you run somewhere, where this species is found, get in touch, we are eager to help people to find you. Click on “list your wild place” it is quick and simple to add your destination, should anyone wish to then visit you, there is a simple form which allows them to book your destination through the website (we work on commission so there is no risk to being listed).

The bat-eared fox is in a safe position, being listed as IUCN as least concern.

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