Swift fox at Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Rescue Center
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Canidae
Genus:
Vulpes
Species:
V. velox
Binomial name
Vulpes velox
(Say, 1823)
Swift fox range
Synonyms
Vulpes velox hebes Merriam, 1902
The swift fox (Vulpes velox) is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma[3] and Texas.[1] It also lives in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, where it was previously extirpated.[2] It is closely related to the kit fox (V. macrotis) and some mammalogists classify them as conspecific.[4] However, molecular systematics imply that the two species are distinct.[5] Interbreeding between the two species does occur where their ranges overlap (eastern New Mexico and western Texas), but this hybridization is quite restricted in scope.[6]
The swift fox lives primarily in short-grass prairies and deserts. It became nearly extinct in the 1930s as a result of predator control programs, but was successfully reintroduced later. Currently, the conservation status of the species is considered by the IUCN as Least Concern owing to stable populations elsewhere.[2]
Like most canids, the swift fox is an omnivore, and its diet includes grasses and fruits as well as small mammals, carrion, and insects. In the wild, its lifespan is 3 to 6 years, and it breeds once annually, from late December to March, depending on the geographic region. Pups are born anywhere from March to mid-May, and are weaned at six to seven weeks old.
^ abWozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
^ abcMoehrenschlager, A.; Sovada, M. (2016). "Vulpes velox". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T23059A57629306. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T23059A57629306.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^Caire, William (1989). The Mammals of Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 30, 288-291. ISBN 978-0806122175.
^Dragoo, Jerry W.; Choate, Jerry R.; Yates, Terry L.; O'Farrell, Thomas P. (August 28, 1990). "Evolutionary and Taxonomic Relationships among North American Arid-Land Foxes". Journal of Mammalogy. 71 (3): 318–332. doi:10.2307/1381942. JSTOR 1381942. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
^Mercure, Alan; Ralls, Katherine; Koepfli, Klaus P.; Wayne, Robert K. (1993). "Genetic Subdivisions among Small Canids: Mitochondrial DNA Differentiation of Swift, Kit, and Arctic Foxes". Evolution. 47 (5): 1313–1328. doi:10.2307/2410150. JSTOR 2410150. PMID 28564903.
^Sheldon, Jennifer W. (1992). Wild dogs: the natural history of the non-domestic Canidae. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 176–182. ISBN 9781483263694.
The swiftfox (Vulpes velox) is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the western grasslands of North America, such as...
Look up Swift, swift, or SWIFT in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: SWIFT, an international organization facilitating...
group of the South American foxes, or of the outlying group, which consists of the bat-eared fox, gray fox, and island fox. Foxes live on every continent...
Occurrence: Short-grass prairies and deserts The swiftfox (Vulpes velox) is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the...
2021. "Outsiders WGN America-Interview with Gillian Alexy & Francie Swift". Fox 31. January 24, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2021. Bernstein, Abbie (February...
possess a light-tipped tail. The other foxes in this group (Bengal, Cape, corsac, fennec, kit, pale, and swift) all possess black-tipped or dark-tipped...
American counterpart of the fennec fox due to its large ears. Some mammalogists classify it as conspecific with the swiftfox, V. velox, but molecular systematics...
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one species within a holarctic clade of foxes that also includes the red fox, the swiftfox and the Arctic fox, all of which it resembles. However, the...
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern...
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avoiding the open plains inhabited by red foxes.: 84–85 Red foxes dominate kit and swiftfoxes. Kit foxes usually avoid competition with their larger...
(2003). A review of Small Canid Reproduction: in The SwiftFox: Ecology and Conservation of SwiftFoxes in a Changing World. University of Regina Press. pp...
important to the diet of many animals such as the black-footed ferret, swiftfox, golden eagle, red tailed hawk, American badger, and coyote. Other species...
The gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America...
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The Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus), also known as grey pampean fox, Pampas zorro, Azara's fox, or Azara's zorro (in Guaraní also called aguará chaí...
The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), also known as the Tibetan sand fox, is a species of true fox endemic to the high Tibetan Plateau, Ladakh plateau, Nepal...
fox in North America, averaging slightly smaller than the swift (Vulpes velox) and kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis). Typically, the head-and-body length is...
The Bengal fox (Vulpes bengalensis), also known as the Indian fox, is a fox endemic to the Indian subcontinent from the Himalayan foothills and Terai of...
lynx competes for prey with the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), and the European...
is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of foxes, but it is neither a fox nor a wolf. It is the only species in the genus Chrysocyon (meaning...
Prairie fox may refer to: Kit foxSwiftfox This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Prairie fox. If an internal link led you...
montanus), Two carnivores associated with the Great Plains include the swiftfox (Vulpes velox) and the endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes)...
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for...
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