Swift Fox

Vulpes velox

Population, Conservation Status, Threats:

Swift fox are considered least concern by the IUCN. Historically, their populations have declined since the 1800s due to trapping and hunting for fur, incidental poisonings, and habitat conversion to cropland. While hunting is illegal in many states, incidental poisoning and habitat loss still threaten them across the whole of their range.

Physical Description:

Swift foxes are the smallest species of canid native to North America. Their fur is gray and orange, with a lighter belly and neck, and dark markings on their snout. They are easily mistaken for kit foxes, but can be distinguished by their smaller ears.

Overall swift fox range from canids.org. Yellow is their extant range, red is where they have been extirpated. In Colorado they are seen from the Front Range and east, and are absent from the general Denver area.

Habitat:

Swift foxes are exclusive prairie dwellers, making use of shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie for habitat. They prefer flat or gently rolling terrain and need loamy soils soft enough to dig their dens into.

Behavior:

Swift foxes live in small family groups in numerous dens across a site. They are primarily nocturnal, emerging from their dens only as early as dusk to hunt.

Diet:

Swift foxes are largely carnivorous, feeding primarily on a wide variety of small animals and even carrion. They can and will eat plants when necessary, though small rodents tend to make up the bulk of their diet.

Reproduction:

Mating season varies by locale, but is generally in the winter. Females produce an average of four pups per litter in the spring, by fall, at four to six months old, the pups leave their parents to find their own territories.

Associated Species:

Coyotes will predate upon swift foxes. Abandoned American badger dens are frequently taken over by swift foxes, who will modify the dens for their own habitation. Jackrabbits are common prey of swift foxes.

Illustration by Willow Sedam

Sources: https://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=AMAJA03030, https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/kitfox/, https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcseprd1326447.pdf

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