Rüppell’s fox (Vulpes rueppellii), also called Rüppell’s sand fox, is a species living in desert and semi-desert regions of North Africa, the Middle East, and southwestern Asia. It has been assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008.[2] It is named after the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell.
This fox is a close relation of the Red fox (this is something that can be suspected, looking at the animal.
It is found throughout all of North Africa, and the middle east, and stretches into Iraq and Iran, alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is not known, but it is suspected to be one of a relatively few number of mammals benefitting from climate change, as it is causing the worlds deserts to grow, which expands areas that this fox can out-compete the red fox.
There is some debate as to how many of these subspecies are valid, but currently 5 are recognized.
Domestic dogs can look quite like wolves, though they can also look incredibly different.
The domestic dog, like the domestic cat is still very similar to the wild wolf in terms of genetics. It is true that our choices have meant that there is a huge range of domestic dog breeds.
So how has the domestic dog changed? Well the domestic dog has been bred to be easier to control, and this almost always comes with a reduction in intelligence. Having said that, wolves are incredibly intelligent, which means that even with less brains domestic dogs are capable of incredible featss of thinking.
The Bush dog is a south American Canid, and the only member of the genus Speothos (there was another species in this group but it is already extinct.
The bush dog is a small canid that lives in South America
Bush dogs are active during the day, and live in packs of up to 12 animals. There is only an alpha pair which breeds, but all will guard the pups, and the males will bring food for the female who stays with the pups.
It is classed as near threatened, but are found across the northern half of the Southern American continent.
They are effective hunters. Their small size allows them to move across the forest floor rapidly, and they have webbed feet, which means that they are good swimmers when they need to cross water (many rainforest flood from time to time.
They are so rarely seen, even in their native habitat, that they were first discovered in the fossil record.
This fox is a also known as the forest fox, wood fox, and bushdog (as apposed to the Bush dog which we have encountered already).
Crab-eating fox
Like other foxes in south America it is not a true fox. It lives in anges in savannas; woodlands; subtropical forests; prickly, shrubby thickets; and tropical savannas such as the caatinga, plains, and campo, from Colombia and southern Venezuela in the north to Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina at the southernmost reaches of its range. Its habitat also includes wooded riverbanks such as riparian forest. In the rainy season, their range moves uphill, whilst in drier times they move to lower ground.[13] Their habitat covers all environments except rainforests, high mountains, and open grassy savannas. In some regions of their range, they are threatened with extirpation.
Looking, at first glance, like a fox on stilts, it is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. It is actually not a wolf or a dog, but instead sits in its own genus Chrysocyon which means “golden dog”. It is crepuscular and omnivorous, and lives on the open habitat of the South America Savanna. The IUCN classes it as near threatened, while a Brazilian organisation with a similar role lists it as vulnerable.
Its name in a local language calls it a big fox. Indeed some studies have suggested that it should be in the same genus as pseudo-foxes.
A recent study suggested that its nearest relative was the Falkland islands wolf, and its mainland relatives – but you have to go back 7 million years to find a common ancestor with this group.
It only hunts solitarily, and its preferred habitat is grasslands, scrub prairies, and forests.
It is not currently considered endangered, given its wide area in which it inhabits, never-the-less it is recognized as a near threatened species due to its reducing numbers. In Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay it is forbidden to hunt them. It has been used to publicize the fight to protect the Brazilian cerrado, by placing it on one of the Brazilian notes.
This animal was shown in great detail in planet earth 3 episode 3, however, this clip is from a bbc series a few years ago.
As we make contacts which you can use to plan your travel to see this animal for yourself.
For those watching this amazing series, you will have see the beautiful animal - looking rather like a fox on stilts, the maned wolf is a species that lives on...
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.Â
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: fanakÂ
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.
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.
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”.
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.
