THE BLANDFORD'S FOX

A very small-sized Fox, with a long and bushy tail, and large ears. Coat is brownish gray, with a dark mid-dorsal band along the back and tail and white-tipped hairs. Underparts are white to pale yellow. Winter coat is soft and woolly, with a dense, black overwool. Summer is paler and less dense. Head is orange buff in color, especially in the winter coat. Narrow face, with a pointed muzzle, and a dark band extending from the upper lip to the eye. Ears are large, pale brown on both sides, with long white hairs along the anteromedial border. Eyes are dark. Limbs are pale yellowish white, dark gray posteriorly, sometimes with a dark stifle. Small feet with naked foot pads. Tail is very long and bushy, brownish gray, with a dorsal black spot at the base, and a black tip (white in some individuals). Females slightly smaller than males, with 3 pairs of nipples. Juveniles have a darker coat.

Blanford's fox is named after the English naturalist William Thomas Blanford, who described it in 1877. It is also known as the Afghan fox, royal fox, dog fox, hoary fox, steppe fox, black fox, king fox (Persian: شاه‌روباه, romanized: shāhrūbāh), cliff fox or Balochistan fox.

About the species

Reproduction and behavior

Gestation: 50-60 days.
Young per birth: 1-3.
Weaning: 30-45 days.
Sexual maturity: 8-12 months.
Life span: 5 years, 10 in captivity.
Breeding season: Between December and February.

Births occur in March or April. Blandford's foxes are monogamous. Young are entirely dependent for food upon their mother’s milk until they begin to forage for themselves, as adults do not carry food to the young. The male have been observed grooming juveniles, but there is no indication that they provides food either to the female or to the pups. Dens are located in small clefts in the rock, and they never dig burrows. Dens are used both for rearing young during spring and for daytime harborage throughout the year. Young remain in their natal range until October or November in the year of their birth.

Diet and interaction with the environment

These foxes are mainly solitary, mated pairs during the breeding season. The diet consists in insects and fruits, but may also prey on small mammals, lizards and birds; they rarely drink water. Main predators: Red Fox, eagles, owls. Nocturnal, though it may be seen during the day. They generally become active soon after dusk and are active throughout the night. Solitary hunters; even mated pairs tend to forage independently. Monogamous pairs occupy territories of 1.6 km2 , with little overlap between territories. During winter and spring, both members of a pair frequently occupy the same den, or adjacent dens at the same site, while during summer and autumn they often den in separate locations.

They are excellent jumpers and tree climbers, having sharp, curved claws and hairless pads for traction; their long, bushy tails serve as a counterbalance. Very sensitive to sound and very shy, running away with a fast ground-hugging run. The pelage color in Iran and further east is predominantly gray, whereas in animals from the Arabian Peninsula, Israel and Egypt it is beige. Animals from southwestern Arabia frequently have a white tail tip. In comparison with other species, the Rüppell’s Fox is slightly larger, with a relatively shorter and less bushy tail, and larger ears; Fennec Fox is smaller, lighter in color, has larger ears, and has hairy foot pads; Red Fox is much larger, with a relatively shorter tail, back of the ears are black, and tail is white tipped.

The body is brownish-grey, fading to light yellow on the belly. The winter coat is soft and woolly, with a dense black undercoat and white fur speckles in the dorsal area; together with a somewhat thicker layer of fat, it serves as thermal insulation in cold and dry winter. The summer coat is less thick, the fur is paler, and the white hair is less noticeable. A characteristic mid-dorsal black band extends caudally from the nape of the spine, becoming a mid-dorsal crest along the length of the tail. The tail is the same colour as the body. A black spot is found at the base of the spine. The tip of the tail is normally black, but it is white in some individuals. The dark mid-dorsal line, which is a distinctive characteristic of the Israeli specimens, is less noticeable in Oman specimens, although the black tail markings are similarly developed.

Like other arid land foxes, Blanford's fox characteristically large ear is an adaptation to enhance heat dissipation. However, unlike other desert foxes, it does not have pads covered with hair, and it has cat-like, curved, sharp claws described by some authors as semiretractile. This fox has an ability to climb rocks and make jumps described as "astonishing", jumping to ledges 3 m (9.8 ft) above them with ease, and as part of their regular movements and climbing vertical, crumbling cliffs by a series of jumps up vertical sections. The foxes use their sharp, curved claws and naked footpads for traction on narrow ledges and their long, bushy tails as a counterbalance

Habitat:

Native to Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. They live in dry foothills and mountainous regions, steep, rocky slopes, canyons and cliffs, creek bed patches, below an altitude of 2,000m, but avoiding higher mountain ranges.

Conservation status: Least Concern (regionally is near threatened in Pakistan). Estimated population of 5,000, being fairly common in some parts of its range. Habitat destruction and human persecution are the major possible threats. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, its pelt is valued and the species has been hunted extensively. Protected by law in Israel. Hunting banned in Oman, Jordan and Yemen. There is no legal protection in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Afghanistan or Pakistan.