The Swift fox
The swift fox is a small orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic house cat. It looks like a small slender dog, with a long body and short legs. It has thick soft fur and a long bushy tail; the swift fox is one of the smallest foxes in the world and is sadly one of the most endangered foxes in the world. Where do they live? The Swift fox is found in the western grass lands of North America, such as Manitoba, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. As well as Alberta and Saskatchewan Canada. Though its native territory is the great plain region of North America. Habitat The swift fox lives primarily in short-grass prairies and desert areas. They form dens in sandy soil on open prairies, in plowed fields or along fences. Individual foxes and family foxes usually have main dens as well as emergency dens to protect themselves from predators near their dens, which are usually in sheltered areas such as rocky areas or grasslands. What factors are causing it to be endangered? There are currently 700 swift foxes left in the wild which compared to past numbers of that species is very little. There are many reasons why the Swift fox is becoming extinct; the main reason why the swift fox is endangered is because of predators such as large carnivores or hunters. The swift fox is being hunted in many regions of the world for its furs. Another reason why they are becoming extinct is because their homes are being destroyed, prairie farmers are planting crops where the swift fox once lived, and because of the crops the foxes had to move away from their homes and their prey. Lastly swift foxes have been accidentally poisoned, shot and trapped because of programs that were meant to kill coyotes, ground squirrels and wolves. What can we do to help? Some ways we can help make sure the swift fox does not become extinct is by first making sure that more people are aware that this species is becoming extinct as well as informing farmers that the swift fox is a producer not an enemy. Lastly we can create natural reserves for the swift fox so that they can stay safe and still be in their natural habitat. What current efforts are being made to help the swift fox? The current efforts that are happening to help save the swift fox are government programs. In the past few years both the federal and provincial government have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to re-introduce the species into southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_fox http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_the_Swift_Fox_endangered http://raysweb.net/species-ej/pages/swiftfox.html http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/fox.htm http://www.odec.ca/projects/2006/kimb6j2/endangered.htm By: Mikayla Specht-Ponto |