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GEOGRAPHIC RANGE AND HABITAT
The Swift Fox is native to the Great Plains region
of North America. Historically, their range included prairies in
central North America, extending north to central Alberta, Canada,
and south to central Texas, east through western Iowa and Minnesota
and west through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Today
the Swift Fox can be found in fragmented, smaller populations in
portions of Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado,
Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.
They generally live in the open desert or grasslands
where they often have dens and hunt mesa country along the borders
of valleys, sparsely vegetated habitats on sloping plains, hilltops,
and other well-drained areas. They have also adapted to pasture,
plowed fields, and fencerows. |
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DESCRIPTION
The swift fox is the smallest of the North
American wild dogs. Soaking wet, they are the size of a large
house cat. When dry, their long coarse hair makes them look
larger. An adult swift fox weighs 4.5 to 7 pounds (about half
as much as a red fox). It is approximately 3 feet from the
tip of its nose to the tip of its tail.
The characteristic features of a Swift
Fox are its small size, long black-tipped bushy tail, and
black facial spots on each side of the muzzle. In general,
they are a soft grey colour tinged with orange or tan on the
legs and lower half of the body. For a small animal, the Swift
Fox is lean, long in the body, and ong-legged, making it well
adapted for speed. It |
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Both sexes looksimilar although males (dogs) may be slightly
heavier than females (vixens). |
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DIET
The Swift Fox is omnivorous (both
plant and meat eaters). Their diet includes a variety of food
sources, including small mammals such as rabbits, prairie
dogs, ground squirrels and mice, birds, reptiles, amphibians,
insects, berries and seeds. In addition, dead animals (carrion)
are often scavenged off roads within the home range. The food
of choice at any given time depends on the season and whatn
it can catch! |
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LIFE CYCLE/SOCIAL
BEHAVIOR
Little is known about how long Swift Foxes live
in the wild. The oldest known wild fox has been 9 years old. In
captivity they have been known to live until the age of 14.
Swift or kit foxes are primarily nocturnal, although
they may occasionally be seen in the daylight hours. Usually, they
emerge from their dens shortly after sunset for hunting, which occurs
sporadically throughout the night. Foxes may cover several kilometers
while systematically hunting for prey but seldom venture more than
2 miles from their dens. Home ranges may overlap broadly, and foxes
from different family groups hunt the same areas, although not at
the same time. |
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REPRODUCTION
Male swift foxes mature and mate
at one year, while females may wait until their second
year before breeding. Individuals sometimes pair for
life, but may not necessarily mate with the same partner
each year. The breeding season for individuals in Canada
begins in March. The gestation period is 50-60 days
and pups are born in mid-May. The breeding season for
individuals farther south in the United States begins
in late December or early January, with pups born in
March and early April. Swift foxes have only one litter
annually, with a litter size ranging anywhere from 2
to 6. Pups are born in the underground den and typically
remain there for about one month After birth, the eyes
and ears |
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closed for 10 to 15 days, thus leaving them dependent
on the mother for food and protection. Pups are weaned
when 6 to 7 weeks old but usually remain with the mother
and father until the fall. |
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INTERESTING FACTS
1. In the past, the fur of the Swift Fox was
a valued commodity.
2. Hundreds of swift foxes were killed accidentally
during the early 1930s from predator control programs aimed at removing
wolves, coyotes, and ground squirrels from prairies.
3. Reintroduction programs in Western Canada
have established small populations in southeast Alberta and southwest
Saskatchewan, totaling 350 foxes.
4. Swift Foxes survive by using their speed.
They range over large areas of open native prairie and may reach
speeds over 27 miles per hour! |
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