Northern Swift Fox
With the desire of its radiant fur and the loss of its protector, the coyote, the northern swift fox is endangered. This beautiful creature is getting less populated every year. The fox lives six to fourteen years in captivity but only three to six years in the wild. Therefore, the number of swift foxes in the wild are decreasing rapidly. One survey shows about 600 northern foxes are left in the world. Because the survey was taken quite a while ago no one is absolutely sure about how many there are now. Even though they do not know how many there are left, we think there are about 150-200 swift foxes left today. Farmers also hunted these foxes long ago because the swift fox killed many livestock for food. Also, since their protector, the coyote is now highly endangered and practically gone, higher carnivores in the food chain eat the baby swift fox pups. Many companies sometimes destroy their homes out in the forest to clear the land for buildings. The foxes then have no place to live. Swift foxes can sometimes be easy to kill since they have very little fear of humans. In the 1900s thousands of swift foxes were accidentally killed during predator control programs aimed at removing wolves, coyotes, and ground squirrels from the prairies.
The northern swift fox’s scientific name is the Caris vulpes velox and part of the family vulpes velax. It’s part of the dog and wolf family, which is part of the carnivore and mammal family. The northern swift foxes are found in many places, one of them being America. They are found in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. Their habitats are usually near or on plains, foothills, forests, and grasslands. Even though they are located in many places, they are located mostly in North America. Their homes are mostly burrows or mounds. Northern swift foxes’ fur also fit with their environments. During the winter they usually have long dense fur to keep them warm, but during the summer they have short, stubby fur. Their throats, chest, and belly are usually beige to white. Also, their fur may be orange, red, gray, or tan everywhere except the tip of their tail, which is usually black and bushy. They’re also small, fast, and good jumpers in order to catch their prey, which is why they got their name northern “swift” fox. Swift foxes are about the size of a large housecat around 27-34 inches long. They have triangular big ears and dark spots on their muzzles below their eyes. They also have many adaptations such as they are nocturnal, have fur, are mammals and carnivores, good jumpers, and move fast. This helps them to catch their prey, which is small animals like birds, mice, rabbits, reptiles, and amphibians. The swift fox also eats plant matter such as berries and leaves as well as insects.
Even though, the Northern swift fox is endangered there are many conservations and ways I can help. National parks, like Yellowstone, have been reserved for the northern swift fox and other animals. If you see a northern swift fox you should notify a natural resource agency so they can put it in captivity and take care of it. The endangerment of the northern swift fox can be prevented.
Rachel Amato