Tibetan Fox (Vulpes ferrilata)

 

THE TIBETAN FOX

The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), also known as the Tibetan sand fox, is a species of true fox endemic to the high Tibetan Plateau and Ladakh plateau (Nepal, China, northern India and Bhutan) up to elevations of about 5,300 m (17,400 ft), making them the canid species with the higher elevation range, and one of the mammals overall as well. 

Is a small-sized canid, with a conspicuously narrow and long muzzle and a rather square head. Pelage is soft and thick, pale gray or sandy, with a tan to rufous band along the dorsum. Muzzle, crown and neck are reddish. Underparts are white. Vertical gray to black bands between the forelegs and chest. 

Ears are small, white inside, tan outside. They have a distinctive elongated muzzle. Forelegs are russet, tail is bushy, mostly gray, with a dark streak near the base in the supracaudal gland, and a white tip. Among the true foxes, its skull is the most specialised in the direction of carnivory; it is longer in length, and in mandible and cheek tooth length, than those of other foxes. Its cranial region is shorter and the arches narrower. Its jaws are also much narrower, and the forehead concave. Its canine teeth are also much longer than those of hill foxes. 

About the species

Reproduction and behavior 

• Gestation: 50-55 days. 
• Young per birth: 2-5. 
• Weaning: the weaning and sexual maturity are unknown.
• Life span: between 8 and 10 years. 
• Breeding season: From December to March. 

Young are born between February and May. The tibetan foxes are monogamous. Dens are usually found in grasslands with moderate slopes. Young do not emerge from the dens until they are several weeks old. Males participate in pup rearing.

 

Social behavior: they are mainly solitary, although they can be seen in family groups of a mated pair with young. Mated pairs remain together and may also hunt together.

Diet and interaction with the environment

They are foraging specialists, preying predominantly on pikas, but also rodents, other small mammals, lizards, insects, berries and carrion. Main predators: feral dogs, gray wolf, raptors. 

The tibetan foxes are crepuscular, most active at dawn and dusk, although can be seen at any time of the day. They spend considerable time resting in small burrows, hollows and rock crevices; there may be 1 to 4 entrances to a den. They may form commensal relationships with brown bears during hunts for pikas, in which they capture pikas excavated but not captured by bears. Also reported to scavenge on wolf kills. 

They are not territorial, and many pairs have been found living in close quarters and sharing hunting grounds. They often deposit their droppings in conspicuous places. Vocalizations consist of short yips to communicate over short distances; no long-distance communication is known. 

Habitat:

They are native to China, northern India, Nepal and Bhutan. Found in the steppes and semi-deserts of the Tibetan Plateau from the Ladakh area of India, east across China including parts of Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan Provinces and all of Tibet, and into Yunnan, in the Mustang area north of the Himalaya. There are no confirmed recent records for Bhutan, meanwhile there is a confirmed record from Sikkim.

Their habitat consists in upland plains and hills, sparse grasslands devoid of trees and shrubs, up to 5,200m, most typically above 3,500m. Rarely encountered where pikas are absent. It primarily inhabits semi-arid to arid grasslands, well away from humans or from heavy vegetation cover. It lives in upland plains and hills from 3,500 to 5,200 m (11,500 to 17,100 ft) elevation, and has occasionally been sighted at elevations of around 2,500 m.

Conservation status: Least Concern. Regionally are endangered in China. Estimated population of 10,000. There are no major threats, although habitat loss and poisoning of pikas across much of the Tibetan Plateau may damage Tibetan Fox populations. They are hunted for pelts, which are manufactured into hats in Tibet. They are legally protected in several large Chinese reserves as Arjin Shan, Xianza, Chang Tang, Kekexili, and Sanjiangyuan.

Physiognomic information:

• Body length: 51-72cm (♂), 49-66 cm (♀).
• Tail length: 21-47 cm
• Height: 27-35 cm 
• Weight: from 4.4 kg to 5.7 kg (♂) and 3.6 kg to 4.1 kg (♀).

Taxonomy: 

Monotypic. Includes ekloni. Similar species: Corsac Fox (Vulpes corsac), which is closely related to, and sympatric in northern parts of its range. It has a black-tipped tail, with russet-gray pelage, and a white chin. Tibetan red fox (Vulpes vulpes montana) is similar in size, but longer legged, slenderer, has longer, sharply pointed ears, lacks the distinct line along the midflank that separates gray from russet color, and the gray to black bands running vertically between the russet forelegs and white chest.

Gallery:

Sources: 

Inaturalist

Canids of the World

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) 

Wikipedia

Pale Foxes (Vulpes pallida)

 

(Due to the lack of information on the subspecies belonging to the Pale Fox it has not been possible to make specific pages for each subspecies. We hope to have more information in the future to give them the representation they deserve!)

THE 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.

The pale fox is a small fox, with a long body and relatively short legs and an narrow muzzle. The fur is quite thin, with a pale sandy colour that turns white towards the abdomen. The back is often speckled with a blackish or a rufous colouration, with a darker mid-dorsal line. The flanks are paler than the dorsal pelage, blending into buffy-white underparts, and the legs are rufous. It has a pale face, an elongated muzzle with relatively long whiskers, and a dark ring surrounding the eye.

Its tail is long and bushy, with a reddish brown color with a prominent black tip and a dark patch above the tail gland. The skull is small with a relatively short maxillary region and small sharp canine teeth. The ears are large compared to other foxes but is typical of a desert inhabiting canid. There is no sexual dimorphism in this species. 

About the species

Reproduction and behavior 

• Gestation: 51-53 days. 
• Young per birth: 3-6. 
• Weaning: 42-56 days.
• Life span: 4 years, up to 16 in captivity.  
• Breeding season: From April to June, before the rainy season. 

Young are born in self-dug burrows. Social behavior: Pairs or small groups with 3 adults (1 female and 2 males). The pale fox is able to relocate southwards and northwards in relation to the periodic droughts that affect the regions they inhabit.

The pale fox typically inhabits stony deserts and semi-deserts although it occasionally ventures south into the savanna. The pale foxes are primarily nocturnal. They are gregarious, living in shared burrows, probably in small family groups with parents and their young. During the day they rest in dug burrows that can extend up to 15 meters long and descend up to 2 meters to the ground, at dusk they venture out and forage for food, which includes plants and berries as well as rodents, reptiles and insects. It has the ability to retain water from its food, and can go almost completely without drinking.

Diet and interaction with the environment

Their diet consists in insects and fruits, but may also prey on small mammals (rodents), reptiles, ground-nesting birds and their eggs; they may also prey on domestic fowl. They are unable to tolerate totally waterless conditions, although they can survive dry seasons, presumably on the residual moisture in their prey. 

Main predators: Eagles, owls. Since the pale fox is one of the least known Canids, little is known about its movements and home ranges. Predominantly nocturnal, it is active from dusk until dawn, resting during the day in self-dug burrows. The burrows are large, with tunnels extending 10-15m and opening into small chambers lined with dry vegetable material. Fecal latrines are located just outside these burrows. Mated pairs are territorial, with home ranges of between 3 and 10 km2 in Niger.

Habitat:

They are native to Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Suda and Sudan. Found in the semi-arid Sahel of Africa, bordering the Sahara to the North. The southern limit of its range extends into the Northern Guinean savanna zones. It ranges from Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia through Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad to the Red Sea. The actual presence in Guinea (northern part) is unknown. 

Their habitat consists in dry, sandy and stony marginal sub-Saharan desert and semi-desert areas, but it may also inhabit moister savanna areas, and areas near human habitation and cultivated fields.

Conservation status: Least Concern. Estimated population of 100,000, being one of the least known canids, but it seems relatively widespread in the ecological band between the true desert of the Sahara and the sub-Saharan savannas. No major threats are known, although they may be persecuted locally since they are known to kill domestic fowl.

Physiognomic information:

• Body length: 41-47cm (♂), 42-47 cm (♀).
• Tail length: 18-22 cm
• Height: 25 cm 
• Weight: from 1.2 kg (♂), 1.2 kg (♀), to between 2.0kg or 3.6kg depending on the subspecies.

Taxonomy: 

Five subspecies are recognized: Vulpes pallida pallida (Kordofan Pale Fox, includes sabbar, found in Kordofan in Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia); Vulpes pallida oertzeni (South Sahel Pale Fox, found in North Cameroon, Chad, Northeastern Nigeria, and Darfur in Sudan); Vulpes pallida harterti (Nigerian Pale Fox, found in Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger and Northern Nigeria); Vulpes pallida edwardsi (Edward’s Pale Fox, found in Mali, Southern Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia) and Vulpes pallida cyrenaica (found in Southeastern Lybia, Northwestern Sudan and mainly in Chad). There is insufficient data available to assess the validity of these subspecies, and variation may be clinal.

Similar species includes the North African Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), sympatric only in Northern Sudan, is larger, with shorter legs and ears dark backed and more pointed; the Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda), sympatric in northern parts of the range, is smaller, with proportionately longer ears and the Rüppell’s Fox (Vulpes rueppellii) has larger ears, and its tail is usually white tipped.

Here the taxonomic tree of the five subspecies: 

Gallery:

Sources: 

Inaturalist

Canids of the World

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) 

Canids.org

Wikipedia

Common North American Red Fox (Vulpes fulva fulva)

 

THE NORTH AMERICAN RED FOX

Also called the "Eastern American Red Fox" or "Common North American Fox", are small-sized canids, with long and slender legs and pointed muzzle, and long brush-like tail. A small-sized subspecies of North American Red Fox, with a relatively short tail and muzzle. Pelage is bright golden fulvous, varying to fulvous, darkest along middle of back, slightly grizzled with white in the rump. Chin, throat and band down belly white. Face rusty fulvous, profusely grizzled with white. Muzzle slender and pointed, white on upper lip. Ears relatively large, pointed, erect, black backed, and usually white inside. Black on feet reaching the thighs. Tail is fulvous, profusely mixed with black hairs on the undersurface, with a black spot near the base, and a white tip. Females are smaller than males. North American Foxes are comparatively lightweight, rather long for their mass, and have considerable sexual dimorphism, compared with Eurasian Foxes.

About the species:

Current literature discusses whether or not the red fox is native to North America, with some research suggesting that nearly all red fox populations in North America are not native. Vulpes vulpes is usually seen either as an exotic species introduced by Europeans during the colonization of the North American continent or as a hybrid between European and North American red foxes. While it is claimed that Vulpes vulpes fulva stems from a non-native population that spread westward from European introduction, a historical analysis of firsthand accounts does not support this claim.

The native status of the American red fox has been demonstrated by current research, which has important implications for management strategies. Previous classifications and taxonomic uncertainties frame populations of Vulpes fulva as a non-native invasive species that can cause declines in the populations of native species and in carrying capacities and can populate regions at higher densities. The identification of the origins of the North American red fox populations is crucial in conservation efforts aimed at native vs. non-native species.

Reproduction and behavior 

• Gestation: 51-53 days. 
• Young per birth: 4-7.
• Weaning: 60 days. 
• Sexual maturity: 12 months. 
• Life span: 5 years, 9 years in captivity. 
• Breeding season: From December to February, with a peak in late January.

Births occur in late March or early April. Dens are constructed during late winter in loose, well-drained soils. Social behavior: Mated pairs. The North American red foxes have been traditionally considered either as subspecies of the Old World red foxes or subspecies of their own species, V. fulva. Due to the opinion that North American red foxes were introduced from Europe, all North American red foxes have been seen as conspecific with V. vulpes; however, genetic analyses of global red fox haplotypes indicates that the North American red foxes have been genetically isolated from the Old World populations for 400,000 years, prompting possible application of V. fulva to all North American red foxes. 

Castello (2018) has formalized treatment of Vulpes fulva as a separate species from the Old World Vulpes vulpes. In 2014, Mark J. Statham among others released a study that supports Vulpes fulva as a separate species from the Old World Vulpes vulpes. However, the American Society of Mammalogists considers V. vulpes to be the sole species, as splitting it into Old and New World forms would render the Old World vulpes paraphyletic.

Diet and interaction with the environment

Their diet consists in rabbits and mice, but may also eat smaller amounts, poultry, squirrels, muskrats, quail, small nongame birds, insects, nuts and fruits. Poultry loss to this species is largely due to improper husbandry practices. It does not exert real pressure on game bird populations. Their main predators are the coyote and the lynx. 

Generally nocturnal, although they can also be observed during the day, especially in open areas. During midday they return to their denning area. They increase their daylight activity during autumn and winter. Non-migratory, and usually use the same area for life, and their size varies with the habitat, food abundance, and time of year, averaging 8-10 km2. During late winter home ranges are larger, due to a decrease in available food. Population densities average 2-3 per km2, but in suitable habitat may range up to 32 per km2.

Habitat:

Native to Canada and United States. Found mainly in Eastern United States: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Also found in southeastern Canada: specially in Southern Quebec, and Southern Ontario. 

Their habitat consists in mixed vegetation communities that occur on edge habitats with a high level of diversity. In developed areas they will inhabit areas that offer a combination of woodland and agricultural land. They can also be found in suburban and, less commonly, urban areas where food is readily available. 

Conservation status: Least Concern. Populations are largely controlled by sarcoptic mange and associated secondary infections. Habitat competition from coyotes also depresses Red Fox numbers, especially in southeastern states.

Physiognomic information:

• Body length: 60-72 cm 
• Tail length: 31-40 cm  
• Height: 40 cm 
• Weight: 3.5-5.4 kg (♂), 4-4.5 kg (♀)
• Skull: 13.4 cm

Taxonomy: 

The North American red foxes have been traditionally considered either as subspecies of the Old World red foxes, Vulpes vulpes, or subspecies of their own species, Vulpes fulva. Due to the opinion that North American red foxes were introduced from Europe, all North American red foxes have been seen as conspecific with Vulpes vulpes; however, genetic analyses of global red fox haplotypes indicates that the North American red foxes have been genetically isolated from the Old World populations for 400,000 years, prompting possible application of Vulpes fulva to all North American red foxes. 

At least 9 subspecies are generally recognized in North America (Aubry, 1983 and 2009, Kamler and Ballard, 2002; Sacks, 2010): Vulpes fulva fulva (Eastern United States), Vulpes fulva rubricosa (central and E Canada), Vulpes fulva regalis, Vulpes fulva alascensis (boreal Alaska), Vulpes fulva abietorum (boreal Canada), Vulpes fulva macroura (Rocky Mountains), Vulpes fulva cascadensis (Cascade Range), Vulpes fulva necator (Sierra Nevada) and Vulpes fulva patwin (Sacramento Valley). 

Castello (2018) has formalized treatment of Vulpes fulva as a separate species from the Old World Vulpes vulpes. In 2014, Mark J. Statham among others released a study that supports Vulpes fulva as a separate species from the Old World Vulpes vulpes. More about the Vulpes vulpes fulva and Vulpes fulva discussion: 

• Blackfoxes
• Furbearer
• Wikipedia

Gallery:

Due to the similarity in appearance between North American Red Foxes, some of the images may be erroneous. That's why I haven't found any videos about this subspecies either, if you think you have any image or video of the Vulpes fulva abietorum let me know in the comments or contact me on any of my social networks (@etzharai). 

Sources: 

Canids of the World

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) 

Wikipedia