DESCRIPTION:

Swift foxes have dark buffy gray coloration extending to a yellow-tan color across their sides and legs. The throat, chest and belly are pale yellow to white. They have a black-tipped tail, black patches on their muzzles and noticeably large ears.

SIZE:

The swift fox, along with the kit fox, is the smallest canid in North America. Weighing approximately 5 pounds, they are about 12 inches in height and 31 inches in length. Males are larger than females.

POPULATION:

The swift fox has been wiped out of 90% of its historic range in the U.S. Estimates suggest that there may be about 300 foxes in Canada.

LIFESPAN:

Little is known about how long swift foxes live in the wild. The oldest known wild fox has been 9 years old. In captivity they have been known to live until the age of 14.

RANGE:

The swift fox is native to the prairies of the Great Plains region of North America. Historically, their range included grassland prairies in central North America, extending north to central Alberta, Canada, and south to central Texas, east through western Iowa and Minnesota and west through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Today the swift fox can be found in fragmented, smaller populations in portions of Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, and they are being reintroduced into parts of Saskatchewan, Canada.

HABITAT:

Swift foxes prefer open rolling grasslands with little or no shrubs.

FOOD:

They feed on a variety of food sources, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, berries and seeds.

BEHAVIOR:

Swift foxes are nocturnal, vocal and nonterritorial. Although they are social animals, they keep one mate throughout their lifetime. They received the name "swift fox" because of their speediness.

OFFSPRING:

Swift foxes breed from December to February. The gestation period is approximately 51 days. Litter sizes average from 4 to 5 kits who begin dispersing in September.