Photo credit: USFWS
Swift fox (Vulpes velox) | ESA status: none
Swift fox
This small (about the size of a house cat), quick, nocturnal fox makes its home in prairies and grasslands. Its fate is often tied to that of its food source, the prairie dog.
Swift fox habitat
Swift foxes live in short-grass prairies, grasslands, and deserts in western North America, including in Canada. Nearly driven to extinction in the 1930s, their populations have since stabilized, but they still live in only an estimated 40 percent of their historic range.
Swift fox diet
Swift foxes are often associated with prairie dog colonies, since they prey on prairie dogs. Omnivorous, they also eat other small mammals, carrion, insects, grasses, and fruits.
What are the threats to the swift fox?
When prairie dog colonies are victims of poisoning, swift foxes suffer, too. Trapping and roads also present threats.
What WildEarth Guardians is doing to save the swift fox
We are working to preserve the prairie dog ecosystem and all species that depend on it. Our work to end the use of trapping and poisons on public lands also benefits the swift fox.
Wildlife Press: Swift fox
Wildlife disservice in New Mexico: Federal wildlife killing program intends to continue slaughter of native species
USDA-Wildlife Services plans to continue use of traps and poisons and leaves open the possibility of killing wild animals in wilderness
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