DESERT FOX

                         

                           STATUS

IUCN                        :  LC*

CAMP                       :  LRnt 

ZSI                            :  VU 

CITES                       :  Appendices III 

Schedule                 :  I (Part I) 

Activity                    :  Nocturnal 

Social Group          :  Lack (small group)

Population             :   Not known but very low and declining 

👉Local name   :  Ran ni lokadi, Lonkado lunri, Lokari

👉Physical measurements & life cycle :👇

Length                  :  70 - 80 cm

Tail length           :  30 cm

Height                  :  40 cm

Weight                 :  46 kg

Maturity              :  12 - 13 months 

Gestation             :  50 - 53 days

Litter size            :  56

Life span             :  6 years

Breeding             :  winter

👉Description  :  Appearance is somewhat similar to that of Indian fox, but desert fox is bit larger in size. It has grey or light yellow body, with larger hair. Tail is bushy and has white tip. 

👉Food  :  Omnivorous. It feeds on small birds, rats, mongoose, lizards, insects, fruits, berries and Honey comb. 

👉Distribution  :  Kachchh and north-west Banaskantha. It was recently seen near Kala Dungar by K. Tatu during an ecological study in the Rann of Kachchh. 

👉Habitat  :  This fox occurs in dry grassland, dry thorny forests, sandy desert, wasteland etc.

👉Behaviour  :  Hunts singly or in pairs. It is mainly a nocturnal animal. 

👉Signs of presence  :  Burrows with multiple openings that exist under brush- wood or thorny bushes in desert area can give clues about the existence of this fox.

👉Desert fox is in fact, a sub-species of Red fox (Vulpes vulpes), that has very wide-spread global distribution. It is also known as White-footed fox. In desert, this fox inhabits sand dunes, scrub covered wastelands or sandy beds of dried rivers. In India, the red fox exists only in the Himalayas and unlike its desert relative, it is a richly çoloured mammal.