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SWIFT FOX FACTS
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Description
The Swift 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.
Other Names
Northern Kit Fox, Prairie Kit Fox
Size
The Swift Fox is one of the smallest wild dogs in North America and is about the size of a domestic cat. Length: Range: males74-82cm; females; 68-75cm. Height: about 30 cm. Weight 1.4 - 3.0 kg
Environment
prairie grasslands just east of the Rocky Mountains
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
central United States east of the Rocky Mountains
Notes
The Swift Fox is very similar to the Kit 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: | velox | | Common Name: | Swift Fox |
Relatives in same Genus
Kit Fox (V. macrotis)
Red Fox (V. vulpes)
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