Swift Fox

Description
The Swift Fox is smaller and more slender than the Red Fox, and is lighter in colour. It is buffy-yellow with a black tip on its bushy tail. Its ears are relatively large and pointed. The fur grows in thicker towards the end of the summer. The Swift Fox measures approximately 80 cm in length, of which its tail makes up about 28 cm, and stands about 30 cm high at the shoulder. On average, the male fox weighs 2.45 kg and the female weighs 2.25 kg.

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Canadian Distribution of the Swift Fox
(shown in red) 1,2

Distribution is approximate and not intended for legal use.

1Author: Canadian Wildlife Service, 2004
2Data Sources: The main source of information and data is the COSEWIC Status Report. In many cases additional data sources were used; a complete list will be available in the future.

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Distribution and Population
The Swift Fox was once found in dry prairie habitat from the southern Canadian prairie to Texas, but the species began to decline early this century. The last Canadian specimen was captured in Govenlock, Saskatchewan in 1928. The Swift Fox has made a comeback in much of its U.S. range and is being reintroduced in Canada. Captive breeding of the Swift Fox in Canada began in 1973 through a privately-run program. This program expanded into an intensive reintroduction project involving federal agencies, academia, and non-government organizations. Between 1983 and 1997, 942 Swift Foxes were released in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Although the majority of the original stock of released foxes has perished, the reintroduction efforts have been successful, and small populations have become established in the southern Alberta/Saskatchewan border area (about 192 foxes in 1997) and in the Wood Mountain/Grasslands National Park Reserve region in Saskatchewan (about 87 foxes in 1997). In 1999, the status of the Swift Fox was downlisted from "extirpated" to "endangered". In 1999, there were an estimated 279 foxes in the wild, with the two wild populations remaining small.

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Habitat
Swift Foxes prefer open, sparsely vegetated short-grass and mixed-grass prairie, where visibility and mobility are unimpeded. Native vegetation common in such grasslands includes buffalo grass, bluestem, and wire grass.

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Biology
Swift Foxes are mainly nocturnal. During the day they usually remain in the vicinity of the den. They often live in pairs, although they may not mate for life. Breeding usually occurs between January and March. The gestation period is about 50 days. Pups born in captivity in Canada are born from mid-April to mid-May. An average litter consists of 4 or 5 pups, though litters of from 1 to 8 pups are possible. The Swift Fox is named for its speed; individuals have been recorded running faster than 60 km/hr. Swift Foxes mostly eat mice, cottontail rabbits, and carrion (dead and decaying animals), although other small mammals, birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians are also taken as available.

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Threats

The conversion of native prairie grasslands to farmland has reduced both the quantity and quality of habitat available to the Swift Fox over much of its former range. The Swift Fox is very vulnerable to shooting and trapping since it is not wary of humans, and poison used to kill coyotes has been detrimental to the species. Predation by coyotes, eagles, and Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks is a potential threat to the Swift Fox.

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Protection
The Swift Fox is protected under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). More information about SARA, including how it protects individual species, is available in the Species at Risk Act: A Guide.

The Swift Fox is protected under the Canada National Parks Act where it occurs in Grasslands National Park. It is also protected by the Saskatchewan and Alberta Wildlife Acts. Under these Acts, it is prohibited to kill, harm, or harass this species.

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Recovery Initiatives

Status of Recovery Planning

Recovery Strategies :
	Name National Recovery Plan for the Swift Fox Status RENEW Publication Number of Action Plans 0 Name Updated National Recovery Strategy for the Swift Fox (Vulpes velox) Status Submitted for peer review/ review by F/P/T partners Number of Action Plans 0

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Population Estimates

Recovery Team

Alberta Swift Fox Recovery Team

Joel Nicholson - Chair - Government of Alberta
Phone: 403-528-5202  Fax: 403-362-5212  Send Email

Swift Fox Recovery Team

Pat Fargey - Chair - Parks Canada
Phone: 306-298-2166  Fax: 306-298-4505  Send Email

Ursula Banasch - Member - Environment Canada
Steve Brechtel - Member - Government of Alberta
Bill Bristol - Member - OGD (other federal dept)
Lu Carbyn - Member - Environment Canada
Dale Eslinger - Member - Government of Alberta
Sue McAdam - Member - Government of Saskatchewan
Axel Moehrenschlager - Member - Other
Joel Nicholson - Member - Government of Alberta
Clio Smeeton - Member - Conservation organization (NGO)

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Recovery Progress and Activities

Summary of Progress to Date

A private captive Swift Fox breeding program initiated by the Smeeton family in 1972 expanded into an intensive reintroduction project involving many partners. Reintroductions using 841 captive-bred foxes and 91 wild translocated foxes occurred from 1983 to 1997. With considerable support from landowners, ranchers, hunters, farmers, and generous individuals and charitable foundations, populations of Swift Fox have been established in the southern Alberta/Saskatchewan border area and in the Wood Mountain/Grasslands National Park  region of Saskatchewan. These populations occupy a relatively small proportion of the historical range of Swift Fox in Canada. While some expansion of the current distribution is possible, it will likely be limited as a large amount of the remaining historical Canadian distribution has been cultivated and may not provide suitable Swift Fox habitat. Nevertheless, Swift Fox have successfully survived and bred in the Canadian reintroduction sites and dispersed into neighbouring habitat in northern Montana.

The first USA reintroduction program began in 1998 and has successfully established a Swift Fox population on Blackfeet lands adjacent to the Canada?US Border in north western Montana. In total, these reintroductions have significantly expanded the Swift Fox populations on the Northern Great Plains.

Summary of Research/Monitoring Activities

A feasibility study completed in 1992, as part of the Canadian Swift Fox Recovery Program, determined that, in spite of the loss of the majority of native prairie, the successful reintroduction of Swift Fox could be achieved with another 3 to 5 years of Swift Fox releases.

Additional field studies were conducted along the borders of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Montana from January 1995 until January 1999. One hundred and twenty five Swift Foxes were live-trapped and 76 Swift Foxes and 11 radio-collared coyotes also were tracked.  Interesting findings included the discovery that Swift Fox could breed in their first year, that litter sizes increased with an increase in the body weight of the female, and how developed the pups are by autumn reflects the date that they emerged from the den.  Coyote and eagle predation each accounted for 36.8% of Swift Fox mortalities and the type of predation differed between seasons and years.  Collisions with vehicles have been identified as another significant cause of Swift Fox mortality. Females with kits often select dens close to roads, which creates a challenge for controlling this source of mortality. Average Swift Fox home range sizes of 31.9 km2 were the largest recorded to date. Home ranges were greater in the winter than summer and 64% of Swift Fox pups located in the winter were still found in the same territories that they were born in.   Pipeline construction was not responsible for movement differences before vs. after development but site disturbance before construction was linked to a lack of Swift Fox reproduction.  Canadian Swift Fox survival and population sustainability may be enhanced through increases in small prey availability and refuge holes created by badgers, decreases in human-caused mortality, and the cooperative mitigation of industrial developments.

Live-trapping population surveys of Swift Foxes in the regions of the Alberta and Saskatchewan reintroduction sites were conducted in 1996-7 and again in 2000-2001. The Alberta/Saskatchewan border population almost tripled between 1997 (192 foxes) and 2001 (560 foxes). The Wood Mountain/Grasslands National Park region population remained relatively stable, with about 87 individuals in 1997 and 96 in 2001.  Eighty-eight percent of individuals trapped in 1995-1998, and 98.6 % of Swift Foxes trapped in 2000-2001 were born in the wild, indicating that the Canadian Swift Fox population is successfully reproducing on its own.

During the 2000-2001 population survey,  the Alberta/Saskatchewan border population was found to be linked to the Wood Mountain/Grasslands National Park region population through the northern Montana population, whereas these populations had previously been considered separate. The implications of this finding are important, including a reduced risk of the genetic problems associated with fragmented populations, but also an increased possibility for disease to spread between Swift Fox populations.

GIS habitat models indicate that native prairie areas that are flat, not fragmented, and not annually cropped are most favoured by Swift Foxes.

Refinements to reintroduction release methodology have reduced post-release mortality of captive reared Swift Fox.

Another census of Swift Foxes in Canada and Montana will take place in 2005-6. The primary questions researchers hope to address during this study are whether the abundance, habitat selection, sex ratio, age structure, disease prevalence, and genetic connectivity have changed.  These results will be  important for assessing population sustainability and recovery status.

Summary of Recovery Activities

The Canadian reintroduction program released both wild-born and Canadian captive-raised foxes between 1983 and 1997.  Swift Foxes captured in the United States were used for both captive breeding and wild releases in Canada. Using foxes from several States increased genetic diversity of the founder population.

The majority of the current Swift Fox distribution is in habitat that is owned or leased to private land managers. Public support for the Swift Fox reintroduction is high, likely because Swift Foxes are intrinsically interesting and do not conflict with native rangeland domestic livestock interests. The continued goodwill and support of local people will be crucial for the long-term survival of this species.

The Swift Fox Recovery Team has worked to integrate Swift Fox habitat conservation into government land use planning and regulations. For example, the Team hopes to finalize a Swift Fox habitat model in the next year that can be used to identified areas of native prairie that are high priority for voluntary habitat securement programs Federally funded by the Species-at-Risk Habitat Stewardship program. There also have been some improvements in government commitment to maintaining government owned native prairie. For example, Saskatchewan?s Representative Areas Network Program helped to protect  750,973 ha of native prairie, some of which is suitable Swift Fox habitat.

Swift Fox are vulnerable to trapping and poisoning activities targeting other species such as skunks (rabies control) or coyotes. Policy and best practices are being developed to limit the amount of incidental mortality of Swift Foxes.

Recently, the Cochrane Ecological Research Institute has been working with the Blood Tribe on a Swift Fox reintroduction in SW Alberta. Both the Blood Tribe of SW Alberta and the Blackfeet Tribe of  NW Montana are members of the Blackfoot Confederacy, and consider the Swift Fox a species of cultural and spiritual importance. In 2004, 15 Swift Foxes were released on Blood Tribe land and future reintroductions are being considered. There is a potential native prairie corridor linking the Blackfeet reintroduction site in NW Montana and Blood Tribe site in SW Alberta.

URL

Hinterland Who's Who: Swift Fox: http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?pid=1&cid=8&id=105

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