McKenzie Nelson
San Joaquin Kit Fox
Vulpes
macrotis mutica
The San Joaquin Kit Fox or Vulpes
macrotis mutica, shown above, is the smallest fox in all of North
America at about the size of a housecat.
The adults have an average body length of 20 inches, weight of about five
pounds, and height of up to 12 inches. They are lean with long legs and big
ears. Their coats range from tan to buffy gray during the summer season, but in
the winter their coat can change to a silvery grey. Their belly remains a white
tone and their bushy tail is tipped black. This fox can have a life span of up
to 7 years.
This fox
was previously found throughout the San Joaquin Valley in California, where its
name derives from, but due to endangerment it is only found on the edges of the
valley like the southern Kern County to Alameda, Contra Costa, and the western valley
counties; Stanislaus eastern county; or a few populations within the valley
itself. The image above shows the San Joaquin Kit Foxes range in the black.
Kit Foxes
have their mating season from December to March and the two parents will care
for the 3-5 possible young pups for 4-5 months, which is when they typically
can find their own food. These foxes live in their underground den, which help
keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter. These dens are generally made
by other animals, and even humans. They also change dens up to 25 times a year.
The San
Joaquin Kit Fox is considered a nocturnal animal as most of their activities
occur. The images below shows pups of the same family together.
The San Joaquin Kit Fox is a member
of the Canidae family like their fellow foxes, and dogs and wolves. There is
not a definite population total, but the estimate is fewer than 7,000; which
has drastically declined since the 1930’s when they were relatively common. Their population
reflects the amount of rainfall each year, because the more rain the more grass
The San Joaquin Kit Fox was placed on
Endangered Species list on March 11, 1967. Then in 1971, the state of
California listed them as a threatened animal. The urban development in the
valley along with farmland and orchard development were the greatest catalyst
to the endangerment. The other great threats were the predators of coyotes and red
foxes, but these are natural not like the poison humans use which is accidentally harming the kit foxes.
A family near their den shown above.
San Joaquin Kit Fox diet consists
of: rodents, black-tailed hares, desert cottontails, mice, kangaroo rats,
squirrels, birds, and lizards. Kit foxes do not necessarily need to drink water
consistently because they food source often provide enough water.
The recovery plan for San Joaquin
Kit Fox was created in September 9, 1930 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The first part of recovery criteria is protection of habitat from further human
development and the implementation of appropriate habitat management plans for
each species self-sustaining status of populations. Since habitat loss is one
of the main causes existed lands are targeted for protection. The Tipton
Kangaroo Rats in Fresno are the main food source for the San Joaquin Kit Fox
and therefore protected for them. It is listed
under priority 2 of action plan and is estimated to cost about $ 17,253,500. It
is estimated to take 20 years to recover. A San Joaquin Kit Fox sketch is shown
to the left.
The
San Joaquin Kit Fox has refuge in Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge,
Grasslands Wildlife Management Area, Kern National Wildlife Refuge, Merced National
Wildlife Refuge, Pixley National Wildlife Refuge, and San Luis National Wildlife
Refuge.
Sources:
Images are
also found on Google along with sites above.
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