Family: Canidae, Dogs view all from this family
Description A small and slight, long-legged, large-eared fox. Back, sides, and top of tail silvery to sandy colored; belly, thin legs, and underside of tail buffy to reddish. Forehead and narrow muzzle gray; throat white; ears very large, pointed, rusty. Tip of long bushy tail black. Ht 9-12" (22-30 cm); L 24–31" (60–80 cm); T 9–11 3/4" (23–30 cm); E 3 1/4 (8.4 cm); Wt 3 1/8–5 lb (1.4–2.3 kg).
Endangered Status The San Joaquin Kit Fox, a subspecies of the Kit Fox, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in California. Before the 1800s, the grasslands of California were second in size only to the Great Plains. Today only 1 percent of the state's native grasslands remains. The San Joaquin Kit Fox is a grassland and scrubland inhabitat and has suffered from the modification of these habitats. Industry, development, and various types of agriculture (in the forms of row crops, orchards, vineyards, and livestock forage) have taken over many of these lands. Suitable remaining habitats are fragmented, meaning the foxes occur in small and isolated populations. These small numbers make the everyday dangers of life in the modern-day wild -- predators, starvation, flooding or drought, poaching, automobiles -- even more significant than they are in a healthy and widespread population.
Similar Species Swift Fox is larger, with relatively smaller ears and shorter tail. Red Fox has white tail tip and black feet. Common Gray Fox is larger, darker, and has black "mane" on top of tail.
Breeding Mates January–February; 1 litter of 3–5 young born March–April.
Habitat Dry meadows and grasslands, scrub, foothills, and other arid areas.
Range Se Oregon and s Idaho south through Nevada and w Utah to s California, Arizona, New Mexico, and w Texas; north into w Colorado and south into Mexico.
Discussion The Kit Fox and the more easterly Swift Fox (Vulpes velox) have sometimes been considered two subspecies of a single species. These small, lithe foxes can run as fast as 25 mph (40 km/h) for short distances, and are sometimes both called the Swift Fox. The Kit Fox is similar in coloration to the Swift, but a smaller and faster species. This solitary, mostly nocturnal fox excavates its own den in open country. Its calls include a shrill yap, several whines, purrs, and growls.
