|
San Joachim Kit Fox The San
Joachin kit fox inhabits the chaparral, grasslands,
and scrublands of the San Joaquin Valley of
California, USA. Kit foxes live in dens. They also
live in man made structures such as irrigation
pipes, drainage culverts, spaces under buildings
and storm drains. Kit foxes
have large ears set close together, a slender body,
long legs, and a black-tipped bushy tail, which
sticks straight out behind them. The pads of their
paws are hairy which gives them better traction in
the sandy soil of their habitat. Their underparts
are light colored and their upper parts are pale
grey in the winter and tan in the summer. Their
ears are dark colored on the back side. The San
Joaquin kit fox is the largest of the 8 subspecies
of kit foxes. An adult kit fox stands
22-30 cm (9-12
in.) at the shoulder and averages about 51 cm (20
in.) in body length. Its tail adds another 30 cm
(12 in.). Fully grown, the kit fox weighs about 2.3
kg. (5 lbs.). The San
Joachin kit fox is a nocturnal animal, but can
sometimes be seen during the day in spring and
early summer. A pair of San Joachin kit foxes stay
together year round, but may not share a den. They
can have as many as 24 different dens. They reach
sexual maturity at 22 months and mate from December
to March. The female is pregnant for 48 to 52 days.
There can be 3-5 pups born at a time in a litter.
They dig special pupping dens with several rooms.
While the female is nursing the pups, the male
hunts for both of them. After 1 month the pups are
weaned and leave the den. After 4-5 months the pups
can find their own food and leave the family.
Sometimes female pups will stay longer and leave
the mother after a year. Kit foxes are known to
live for 7 years in the wild and can live as long
as 10 years in captivity. They are solitary
animals, preferring to live alone or in a small
family group rather than in packs. San Joachin
kit foxes eat ground squirrels, gophers, birds, and
lizards and nocturnal rodents. They also eat
kangaroo rats, mice, black-tailed hares, antelope
squirrels, cottontails, ground nesting birds,
insects, vegetation, and grasses. As they eat both
animals and vegetation, they are
omnivores. The San
Joachin kit fox's predators are coyotes and red
foxes. Man is also a predator because he sometimes
shoots or poisons the San Joachim kit
fox. The San
Joaquin kit fox is able to adapt to hot
temperatures of the chaparral summers and cold
temperatures of the winter nights. They are
nocturnal and so are active during the cooler time
of night. Another
adaptation for the heat of the desert is the size
of their ears. The ears of the kit fox are big and
they act like radiators, cooling the fox. Digging
dens is another way they adapt to coping with the
heat of the desert. The den is cool under the tree
roots and out of the heat. The kit fox's fur
changes color from grey in the winter to tan in the
summer to camouflage it. Another adaptation is the
fur/hair on the pads of their paws, which gives
them better traction and protects the paws from the
heat of the chaparral sand. The kit fox
is threatened by the red fox and the coyote, who
are predators. The kit fox is also threatened by
man through hunting, electrocution, traffic,
trapping and poisoning. The farmer might do this
because the kit fox is bothering his chickens and
other farm animals. Much of the San Joaquin Valley
has been turned into farmland and developments.
Grazing animals have destroyed the chaparral that
protected the kit fox's prey. The Fish and Wildlife
Service of California has put the San Joachim kit
fox on the threatened wildlife list. by Vaughn
R. 2002
bibliography: "San Joaquin Kit Fox Profile", http://arnica.csustan.edu/esrpp/sjkfprof.htm California - San Joaquin Kit Fox - Vulpes Macrotis Mutica", http://library.thinkquest.org/2878/ca_san_joaquin_kit_fox.html?tq skip1=1&tqtime=0612 "San Joaquin Kit Fox", http://www.vulpes.org/foxden/information/san-joaquin-kit-fox.htm
|
