NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK HOLLISTER. 565 



coat and the fur is of considerable value. The cross fox and the 

 black or silver fox are color phases of this species and examples 

 of each are sometimes found in litters of red foxes. Both phases 

 occur most frequently in definite geographic areas, however, and 

 in some western localities the cross fox coloration is the common 

 condition. Silver foxes are now bred in confinement and the skins 

 frequently bring enormous prices in the fur market. 



The swift, or kit fox (Vulpes velox) is an inhabitant of the open 

 areas of the West and is found in many of the most arid deserts. 

 A number of species and races are recognized by mammalogists. 

 The fur has no real value. 



The common gray fox abounds in many parts of the United 

 States and Middle America. Unlike the red fox it is a good climber 

 and if pursued by dogs readily takes to trees. The common eastern 

 species (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) maintains itself in well-settled 

 communities and is sometimes known by the misnomer of. "silver- 

 gray fox." In localities where it is not often taken, the capture of 

 a specimen frequently excites the trapper to the belief that he has a 

 specimen of the real prized and valuable silver fox. The genuine 

 silver fox, mentioned above as a color phase of the red fox, is chiefly 

 black, with more or less white hair mixed in the pelage ; whereas the 

 gray fox is always gray and rufous, with a blackish stripe along the 

 upper surface of the tail. The fur of the gray fox is comparatively 

 short and coarse, but is of real beauty and is considerably vised by 

 the trade. Its value is much less than the fur of the red fox. 



The arctic fox (Alopex lag opus) is circumpolar in distribution and 

 is much prized for its fur. In the boreal regions the animals are 

 clear white in winter, though the summer coat is of a bluish brown. 

 On some of the islands of Alaska the animals are all of the " blue 

 fox " type and the white pelage is unknown. 



The park possesses fine examples of the Eskimo dog, the descend- 

 ants of the animals which accompanied Admiral Peary to the North 

 Pole. Those now here are the grandsons and granddaughters of the 

 original famous animals. It is greatly to be hoped that this stock 

 can be perpetuated. The Eskimo dog is a variety of the common 

 domestic animal {Cants familiaris) and, contrary to general belief, 

 apparently is not a direct and scarcely modified descendant of the 

 wolf now found wild in the northern regions. Examination of 

 dozens of skulls of dogs from the ancient Eskimo dwelling sites of 

 northeastern Siberia and from more recent Eskimo tribes fails to dis- 

 close any more wolf-like characteristics in the bones or teeth than 

 are found in all large domestic dogs. The primitive Eskimo dog 

 skulls are almost counterparts in all characters of the dog skulls 

 found in ancient Egyptian burials and in the pre-Columbian graves 

 of Peru. Domestic dogs have the general wolf type of skull and 

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