Original range | Current range | Estimated population | Threats to survival | Species recovery | Species recovery | Partners and links

Description: One of the smallest foxes in the world, the swift fox weighs just 2.5 kilograms and measures about 30cm high at the shoulder. It is named for its speed, which can reach 60 km/hr. The fox is nocturnal and feeds on small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, grasses and berries, as well as carrion left by larger predators. Their estimated home range size is thought to be about 12-32 square kilometres. They form lasting pair bonds, and both male and female rear their young. Breeding occurs in March and two to five pups are born in the den in mid-May. Their life expectancy in the wild is three to six years and up to 14 years in captivity.

Original range: Swift foxes were once found from the Prairie grasslands in Manitoba to the foothills of Alberta, and south through the central plains states to Mexico.

Current range: The swift fox is now endangered in 90% of its historic habitat range, with small populations in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and northern Colorado. In Canada the fox disappeared from the wild in the 1930's and was listed as "extirpated" in Canada in 1978.

Estimated population: About 300 in Canada.

Threats to survival: A rapid population decline in the early 1900's was due to loss of habitat to agriculture and ranching; earlier intensive trapping; and poisoning that was the result of campaigns to eradicate prairie dogs, ground squirrels, wolves and coyotes. Present threats include habitat fragmentation and degradation; scarcity of prairie dogs and ground squirrels that are a major source of prey; continued threat from other poison campaigns; competition for food with coyotes; and predation by coyotes.

Species recovery: A swift fox captive breeding program was established in 1973 in Cochrane, Alberta and; releases began in 1983. Despite the fact that over 1,000 foxes had been released in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, only about 120-150 survived in Canada in 1995. WPC helped fund a three-year study from 1995-1997, to determine the size and health of the species, identify prime habitat and study fox-coyote dynamics. By the end of 1997 an estimated 289 foxes survived in Canada and 90% of these were wild-born, indicating that the fragile population in Canada might be recovering.

In 2000-2001, WPTC funded a national census in the Alberta/Saskatchewan and Montana border areas which revealed 111 foxes, triple the number that were found four years previously. A stunning 98.6% were wild born, proving that the foxes are indeed surviving and breeding and making this one of the most successful endangered species translocation programs in the world. In the fall of 2005, an international census will be conducted throughout Alberta/Saskatchewan and into the United States. It will continue throughout the winter and into 2006.

WPC has also supported the launch of a GIS habitat suitability model to pinpoint areas that are critical to protect swift foxes in Canada.

WPC'S Swift Fox Census Program Partners > Alberta Environmental Protection > Calgary Zoo, Centre for Conservation Research > Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks > Parks Canada > Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management