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Kit Fox around a dessert in southern Utah
Photograph by User:Utahcamera. License: Public Domain. |
San Joaquin Kit Fox
Photograph by B. Peterson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . License: Public Domain. |
San Joaquin Kit Fox
Photograph by B. Peterson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . License: Public Domain. |
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KIT FOX FACTS
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Description
The Kit Fox is light grey with orange-tan coloring on the sides and legs. The throat, chest and underside is creamy white. The bushy tail has a black tip. The snout has black markings on either side.
Size
The Kit Fox is one of the smallest wild dogs in North America and is about the size of a domestic cat. Length: 73-84cm;. Weight 1.4 - 2.7kg.
Environment
desert and semi-arid regions
Food
small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects. Also berries and grass.
Breeding
Litter of two to six born in March-May after gestation period of 50-60 days.
Range
between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Rocky Mountains and on down into Baja California and the North Central states of Mexico
Notes
The Kit Fox is very similar to the Swift Fox, and is considered to be the same species by some. Kit Fox ears are larger and closer together than the Swift Fox. The Kit Fox has a broader head and the snout is narrower. The Kit Fox has a proportionately longer tail than the Swift Fox.
Classification
| Class: | Mammalia | | Order: | Carnivora | | Family: | Canidae | | Genus: | Vulpes | | Species: | macrotis | | Common Name: | Kit Fox |
Relatives in same Genus
Swift Fox (V. velox)
Red Fox (V. vulpes)
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