DOG FAMILY 



77 



KIT FOX 

 Vulpes velox {Say) 



Other Names. — Swift Fox, Long-eared Fox. 



General Description. — See general description of 

 Red Fox. A diminutive Fox similar in form and 

 general appearance to the Red Fox. Color much paler ; 

 legs shorter. Tail half as long as head and body. No 

 black on ears. 



Dental Formula. — Same as that of Red Fox. 



Pelage. — Top of head, ears, upper part of body and 

 tail yellowish-gray, darkest on back, hairs tipped with 

 white; sides of neck, flanks and upper portion of legs 

 huffy white, inclining to rufous where it meets the 

 gray of upper parts ; a black patch on each side of 

 muzzle, some hairs white-tipped ; under parts and legs 

 white; under side of tail buff, tip black. 



Measurements. — Length, 25'/2 inches; tail, 9 inches; 

 hind foot, 3-)4 inches. Weight, 4 pounds. 



Range. — Plains of Colorado and Nebraska to Sas- 

 katchewan. A prairie dweller. 



Food. — Small mammals and birds of the region it 

 inhabits. 



Remarks. — This is the smallest member of the Red 



Fox genus. The sub-group to which this Fox belongs 

 differs rather markedly from the other members of the 

 genus in appearance, habitat (dwelling in the open) 

 and consequently somewhat in habits. The color phases 

 of the typical Red Fox group are unknown among the 

 Kit Foxes. The Kit Foxes might be considered as 

 Red Foxes that had left the timbered regions to dwell 

 in open, semi-arid areas and had become bleached out 

 by exposure to the hot sun, as well as suffering a reduc- 

 tion in size. 



Related Species 



Kit, or Swift Fox. — Vulpes velox velox (Say). The 

 typical form of the description above. Plains and 

 prairies from Colorado and Nebraska to Saskatchewan 

 Assiniboia. 



Merriam's Kit Fox. — Vulpes velox hehes Merriam. 

 Larger ; paler and grayer. Alberta. 



Long-eared Fox. — Vulpes inacrotis Merriam. 

 Size larger ; ears very large ; color very pale. Deserts 

 of southern California. 



The Kit, or Swift Fox, sometimes called also 

 the Burrowing Fox, is a much smaller animal 

 than the Red and Gray Foxes ; indeed it is the 

 smallest ( also, in the opinion of some, the pretti- 

 est) of all American Foxes. It is found from 

 Nebraska to Colorado and northward over the 

 plains. It derives its specific name, velox, from 

 its supposed swiftness of foot; but according to 

 several observers, its speed does not jtistify the 

 appellation. Mr. Seton ranks its speed as " a 

 little higher than the Coyote." It is only abotit 

 twenty-five inches long, its form being compact 

 and slender. It stands lower that) the Red Fox, 

 and its thickly furred ears are relatively longer. 

 Its feet are clothed with long woolly hairs. Its 

 weight is about four pounds. Its under fur is 

 both long and abundant. 



The Kit shows the least cunning of all Ameri- 

 can Foxes. It is very tmstispicious ; and its 

 rapid decline in numbers may be due to the readi- 

 ness with which it eats poisoned meat that has 

 been put out for Coyotes. 



The name " Burrowing Fox " has been given 

 to the animal on account of the skill and speed 

 with which it digs its burrows. From these it 

 seldom ventures far. 



Kit Foxes feed on birds and their eggs, in- 

 sects, and small rodents ; and they have been seen 

 to catch prairie-chickens that were asleep in 

 soft snowdrifts. From mating time the male 

 and female remain together the summer through ; 

 and from the fact that the former is active in the 

 care of the cubs it has been thought that the pair- 



ing is permanent. Comparatively little, however, 

 can be stated with certainty concerning this part 

 of Kit Fox life. The Kit's den is often some dis- 

 tance below the surface of the ground. One 

 that was found on Pawnee Creek, Colorado, by 

 one of Mr. Seton's guides, " was reached by a 

 tunnel about nine feet long and was five feet 

 from the stu'face. The chamber was nicely lined 

 with grass and contained five young ones. ' Just 

 the cutest, prettiest things he ever saw.' " 



Adult Kit Foxes are not entirely devoid of 

 strategy, although they are not, as has been 

 stated above, so cunning as some of the other 

 species. Thus if the old and young are together 

 when surprised, the parents will attract the at- 

 tention of the dog while the cubs make their 

 escape into the burrow. 



Thotigh young Kit Foxes may be easily raised, 

 they do not seem to become really tame. This, 

 at any rate, was the case with the five ctibs from 

 Pawnee Creek, referred to above, but Mr. Seton 

 says that this Fox is easily managed and breeds 

 freely in captivity, and he cites Audubon and 

 Bachman's accotmt of a captive specimen that 

 " drank more water than Foxes generally do, 

 seemed anxious to play or wash in the cup which 

 held his supply, and would frequently turn it 

 over, spilling the water on the floor of his cage." 



The Kit Fox's skin is not commercially valua- 

 ble, bringing from thirty cents to one dollar and 

 thirty-two cents. In 1912, one firm in London 

 sold 35,222 skins, which was an average annual 

 sale. 



