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Swift Fox |
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| Description
You are visitor # Last updated 12/6/02 |
Threats
& Management Needs:
The
swift fox was been petitioned to be listed as a threatened or endangered
species due to the dramatic decline in its population and range.
The petition was deemed warranted but precluded by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (Federal Register, 1995), although a change is status
may occur as biological information in collected throughout the swift fox
range (Hansen, 1997). Swift
foxes may require large expanses of short-grass or mid-grass prairie and,
consequently, cultivation of prairies may have been the most detrimental
factor affecting the species' range (Egoscue 1979; Samuel and Nelson 1982;
Scott-Brown et al. 1987). Habitat
restoration may be needed to re-establish the swift fox to former parts of
it's range. The current
distribution and numbers of swift foxes may also be affected by coyotes (Canis
latrans). Recent research
in Colorado and Kansas has indicated that the largest cause of mortality
for swift foxes was predation by coyotes (Covell 1992; Sovada et al.
1998). A better understanding
of the relationships between swift foxes and coyotes may be needed to
further enhance conservation efforts for swift foxes.
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