San Joaquin Kit Fox, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Fish and Wildlife Service

Bell, Heather. 1995. San Joaquin Kit Fox. Tideline Vol.15 No. 3 1-3.

San Joaquin Kit Fox

by Heather Bell

© Photo by B. "Moose Peterson

Waif-like in appearance at only four pounds and 12 inches in height, the San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) tackles life in the arid regions of California's San Joaquin Valley by staying underground in cool burrows during the day and hunting for food at night. This resident of an ever-shrinking eco-system has become one of California's most photographed, published and controversial endangered species.

Perhaps the fox is photogenic because of those ears. Like satellite dishes scanning the blackness, its large ears search for sounds of prey. Foot-drumming by a giant kangaroo rat or the eerie screech of a wounded cottontail might signal a meal.

Perhaps it is photogenic because of those large eyes that enable the kit fox to see and hunt at night, or its small size that provides it with a niche not already occupied by other members of the dog family. Or perhaps it is all of the above coupled with a generous tail tipped in black.

Not only has this carnivore been photographed, it has also been followed for clues about its life span, reproductive rate, home range size, prey and habitat needs, competitors, predators, and even its need for fresh water. Most of our information on this fox comes from a population which lives amongst oil

Last updated: May 22, 2008

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