Overview
Distribution
Range Description
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Geographic Range
Tibetan foxes have been known to inhabit the Tibetan plateau of India, China, Sutlej valley of northwestern India and parts of Nepal, specifically the Mustang district.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native )
- Postanowicz, R. 1997. "Tibetan Fox (Vulpes ferrilata)" (On-line). Lioncrusher's Domain. Accessed March 23, 2004 at http://www.Lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=34.
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Physical Description
Morphology
Physical Description
Tibetan sand foxes range in color from black, to brown and rusty-colored, to yellowish on neck and back. They possess a tawny band on the dorsal region and white on the tail, muzzle and belly. The fur is thick, with a dense undercoat.
From nose to tail, The head and body length of Vulpes ferrilata measures from 575 to 700 mm. The tail adds an additional 400 to 475 mm to the total length. These animals weigh between 3 and 4 kg. There is no information available on sexual differences in size. The muzzle is elongated relative to most fox species. The teeth are well developed with extraordinarily long canines and narrow maxilla.
Range mass: 3 to 4 kg.
Range length: 975 to 1175 mm.
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Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
Tibetan Foxes spend considerable time resting in small burrows or hollows (Wang et al. 2003). They are most active at dawn and dusk, although can be seen at any time of the day.
Systems
- Terrestrial
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Habitat
Tibetan sand foxes have been reported to inhabit barren slopes and streambeds. They appear to prefer rocky or brushy areas at high elevation. They are found on the Tibetan Steppe at a maximum altitude of 5.300 m. These animals live in excavated dens or burrows under rocks or in crevices of boulder piles.
Range elevation: 5300 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: chaparral ; scrub forest ; mountains
- IUCN Canid Specialist Group, 2004. "Tibetan Fox (Vulpes ferrilata)" (On-line). IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group. Accessed March 23, 2004 at http://www.canids.org/SPPACCTS/vferrila.htm.
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Trophic Strategy
Food Habits
Foxes hunt in pairs (one male, one female) and will share whatever food is caught. They eat mostly rodents, hares, rabbits, and small ground birds. However, anything that can be caught will be eaten. The Black lipped pika, also sharing the same range and habitat, seems to be a preferred prey item.
Animal Foods: birds; mammals; eggs
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates)
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Associations
Ecosystem Roles
Tibetan sand foxes play a significant role in controlling the rodent and small animal population. They may also help to aerate the soil by digging their dens.
Ecosystem Impact: soil aeration
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Predation
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Life History and Behavior
Behavior
Communication and Perception
Short yips are passed between animals to communicate, but since the pairs usually stay together, no long distance communication is known or thought necessary. Scent is used to define territory, but the foxes are not known to actively defend their area.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; acoustic
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Life Cycle
Development
Kits do not emerge from the den for some weeks after their birth, but quickly develop, and within 8-10 months are sexually mature. (Schaller, 2000)
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Life Expectancy
Lifespan/Longevity
Some researchers assume a lifespan of 8-10 years under ideal circumstances. Most foxes are lost to natural causes or human trackers before their fifth year.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 8 to 10 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 5 (high) years.
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Reproduction
Reproduction
V. ferrilata is apparently monogamous, with mated pairs staying together for life.
Mating System: monogamous
Mating season falls around late February to early March, and pairs of foxes stay together and are life-long mates. They live, hunt and share the responsibility of raising the young together. The gestation period is thought to be 50 to 60 days. Kits are born in late April to early May. The litter size ranges from 2 - 5 kits. The kits do not emerge from the den for some weeks after birth, so the exact gestation period is unknown.
Breeding interval: It seems these animals breed once annually.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs in late February or early March.
Range number of offspring: 2 to 5.
Range gestation period: 50 to 60 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); fertilization ; viviparous
All canid young are altricial. V. ferrilata young o not emerge from their natal dens until they are several weeks old. The exact timing of weaning has not been reported. Because the species is monogamous, both parents are involved in caring for the young.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; altricial ; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); extended period of juvenile learning
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Justification
History
- 2004Least Concern
- 1996Lower Risk/least concern
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Conservation Status
V. ferrilata was formerly (1996) on the IUCN Redlist as a species of Lower Risk (least concern), but is currently unlisted.
US Migratory Bird Act: no special status
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
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Trends
Population
However, more recent studies with marked animals (Liu et al. 2007) have suggested that Tibetan Foxes can achieve relatively high densities where preferred prey is abundant and human hunting pressure low. Densities of 2-4/km² may occur (R.B. Harris pers. comm., 2008). A very coarse and unreliable estimation of population density of Tibetan Foxes in the Tibetan Autonomous Region was provided by Piao (1989), which extrapolated to an estimate of 37,000.
Population Trend
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Threats
Threats
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Management
Conservation Actions
Gaps of knowledge
All aspects of the fox's natural history needs to be studied.
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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
These animals apparently have no negative impact on humans.
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Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
The only known predators of this species are humans, who commonly trap and kill V. ferrilata for their fur. There is a large industry in the higher areas of Tibet and Nepal for the fox’s fur, which is usually made into hats. The fur is prized for this, because of its great ability to protect its wearer from the wind and other elements.
Positive Impacts: body parts are source of valuable material
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Wikipedia
Tibetan sand fox
The Tibetan sand fox (Vulpes ferrilata) is a species of true fox endemic to the high Tibetan Plateau in Nepal, China, Sikkim, and Bhutan, up to altitudes of about 5300 m. It is classed as Least Concern for extinction by the IUCN, on account of its widespread range in the Tibetan Plateau's steppes and semi-deserts.
It is sometimes referred to as the Tibetan fox, or simply as the sand fox, but this terminology is confusing because the corsac fox (Vulpes corsac), which lives in arid environments north and west of the Tibetan Plateau, is often called the "sand fox" or "Tibetan fox" as well. Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii) is also known as the "sand fox".
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Physical description
Tibetan foxes are small and compact, with soft, dense coats and conspicuously narrow muzzles and bushy tails. Their muzzles, crowns, necks, backs and lower legs are tan to rufous coloured, while their cheeks, flanks, upper legs and rumps are grey. Their tails have white tips. The short ears are tan to greyish tan on the back, while the insides and undersides are white.[3] Adult Tibetan foxes are 60 to 70 centimetres (24 to 28 in) from head to body (juveniles are somewhat smaller) and a tail length of 29 to 40 centimetres (11 to 16 in). Weights of adults are usually 4 to 5.5 kilograms (8.8 to 12 lb).[4]
Among the true foxes, their skulls are the most specialised in the direction of carnivory;[5] They are longer in their condylobasal length and in mandible and cheek tooth length than those of hill foxes. Their cranial region is shorter than that of hill foxes, and their zygomatic arches narrower. Their jaws are also much narrower, and their foreheads concave. The canine teeth of Tibetan foxes are also much longer than those of hill foxes.[6]
Distribution and habitat
The Tibetan sand fox is restricted to the Tibetan Plateau in western China. It is found across Tibet, and in parts of the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang, Yunnan and Sichuan. Outside of China, it can be found in northern Bhutan, and in the northernmost border regions of Nepal and India, north of the Himalayas. No subspecies are recognised.[7]
The sand fox is found primarily in semi-arid to arid grasslands, well away from humans or from heavy vegetation cover. It inhabits upland plains and hills from 3,500 to 5,200 metres (11,500 to 17,100 ft) elevation, although it is occasionally seen on lower ground, down to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft).[7]
Behaviour
They primarily prey on pikas, followed by rodents, marmots, woolly hares and lizards. They may also scavenge on the carcasses of Tibetan antelopes, musk deer, blue sheep and livestock. Tibetan foxes are mostly solitary, daytime hunters as their main prey, pikas, are diurnal.[8] Tibetan foxes may form commensal relationships with brown bears during hunts for pikas. The bears dig out the pikas, and the foxes grab them when they escape the bears.[4]
Mated pairs remain together and may also hunt together.[9] After a gestation period of about 50 to 60 days, two to four young are born in a den, and stay with the parents until they are eight to ten months old.[10] Their burrows are made at the base of boulders, at old beach lines and low slopes. Dens may have four entrances, with entrances being 25–35 cm in diameter.[8]
Diseases and parasites
Tibetan foxes in the Sêrxü County of China's Sichuan province are heavily infected with Echinococcus, while foxes in western Sichuan are definitive hosts of alveolar hydatid disease.[8]
References
Notes
- ^ Wozencraft, W. Christopher (16 November 2005). "Order Carnivora (pp. 532-628)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000872.
- ^ Schaller, G.B., Ginsberg, J.R. & Harris, R. (2008). Vulpes ferrilata. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 22 March 2009. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- ^ Sillero-Zubiri, Hoffman & MacDonald 2004, pp. 148–149
- ^ a b Harris, R.B., Z.H. Wang, J.K. Zhou, and Q.X. Liu (2008). "Notes on biology of the Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata)". Canid News 11: 1–7. http://www.canids.org/canidnews/11/Biology_of_Tibetan_fox.pdf.
- ^ Heptner & Naumov 1998, p. 482
- ^ Pocock 1941, p. 145
- ^ a b Clark, H.O. et al. (2008). "Vulpes ferrilata (Carnivora: Canidae)". Mammalian Species: Number 821: pp 1–6. doi:10.1644/821.1.
- ^ a b c Sillero-Zubiri, Hoffman & MacDonald 2004, p. 150
- ^ Liu, Q.X., R. B. Harris, X.M. Wang, and Z.H. Wang (2007). "Home range size and overlap of Tibetan foxes (Vulpes ferrilata) in Dulan County, Qinghai Province". Acta Theriologica Sinica 27: 370–75.(Chinese)
- ^ Clark, H.O, Jr., D. P. Newman, J. D. Murdoch, J. Tseng, Z.H. Wang, R. B. Harris (in press). "Vulpes ferrilata". Mammalian Species.
Bibliography
- Heptner, V. G.; Naumov, N. P. (1998), Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a, Sirenia AND Carnivora (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears), Science Publishers, Inc. USA., ISBN 1-886106-81-9, http://ia360702.us.archive.org/11/items/mammalsofsov211998gept/mammalsofsov211998gept.pdf
- Pocock, R. I. (1941). Fauna of British India: Mammals Volume 2. Taylor and Francis. http://ia341313.us.archive.org/0/items/PocockMammalia2/pocock2.pdf
- Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio; Hoffman, Michael; MacDonald, David W. (2004), Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs - 2004 Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group, ISBN 2-8317-0786-2, http://www.canids.org/species/Tibetan_fox.pdf
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