| Tibetan fox | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Vulpes |
| Species: | V. ferrilata[1] |
| Binomial name | |
| Vulpes ferrilata[1] | |
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| Tibetan fox range | |
| Synonyms | |
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TheTibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), also known as theTibetan sand fox, is aspecies oftrue foxendemic to the highTibetan Plateau,Nepal,China,Bhutan and theIndian states ofLadakh andSikkim, up to elevations of about 5,300 m (17,400 ft). It is listed asLeast Concern in theIUCN Red List, on account of its widespread range in the Tibetan Plateau's steppes and semi-deserts.[2]
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The Tibetan fox has a soft and denserufous coloured coat from the crown, neck, back to the lower legs. Its muzzle is narrow, its cheeks, flanks, upper legs and rumps are grey, and its bushy tail has white tips. The short ears are tan to greyish tan on the back, while the insides and undersides are white.[4] Adult Tibetan foxes are 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in), not including tail, and have tail lengths of 29 to 40 cm (11 to 16 in). Weights of adults are usually 4 to 5.5 kg (8.8 to 12.1 lb).[5]
Among the true foxes, its skull is the most specialised in the direction of carnivory;[6] it is longer in the condylobasal length, and inmandible and cheek tooth length, than those of hill foxes. Its cranial region is shorter than that of hill foxes, and thezygomatic arches narrower. Its jaws are also much narrower, and the forehead concave. Itscanine teeth are also much longer than those of hill foxes.[7]
The Tibetan fox is restricted to theTibetan Plateau in western China and theLadakh plateau andSikkim in India. It occurs north of theHimalayas in the northernmost border regions of Nepal and India, acrossTibet, and in parts of the Chinese provinces ofQinghai,Gansu,Xinjiang,Yunnan andSichuan.[2] It primarily inhabits semi-arid to arid grasslands, well away from humans or from heavy vegetation cover. It lives in upland plains and hills from 3,500 to 5,200 m (11,500 to 17,100 ft) elevation, and has occasionally been sighted at elevations of around 2,500 m (8,200 ft).[8]
The Tibetan fox primarily preys onplateau pikas, followed byrodents,marmots,woolly hares,rabbits, small groundbirds andlizards.[9] It also scavenges on the carcasses ofTibetan antelopes,musk deer,blue sheep and livestock. Tibetan foxes are mostly solitary, daytime hunters as their main prey, pikas, are diurnal.[4] Tibetan foxes may formcommensal relationships withbrown bears during hunts for pikas. The bears dig out the pikas, and the foxes grab them when they escape the bears.[5]
Mated pairs remain together and may also hunt together.[10] After agestation period of about 50 to 60 days, two to four young are born in aden, and stay with the parents until they are eight to ten months old.[8] Their burrows are made at the base of boulders, at old beach lines and low slopes. Dens may have four entrances, with entrances being 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in) in diameter.[4]
Tibetan foxes in theSêrxü County of China'sSichuan province are heavily infected withEchinococcus, while foxes in western Sichuan are definitive hosts ofalveolar hydatid disease.[4]
