About half the size of a red fox, the swift fox of the High Plains is named for its ability to run down jackrabbits. Primarily nocturnal, this smallest canid in North America spends much of the day in its den, emerging at dusk to hunt for mice, jackrabbits, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, birds and insects; an omnivore, it also consumes fruit and seeds. The swift fox usually digs its den in sandy soil near rock outcrops, among the cottonwood groves of stream valleys or along fence lines.
Swift fox pairs are thought to remain monogamous throughout their life span (generally 4-6 years in the wild), and mate in late winter; kits (usually 4-5) are born from March to May, depending on the latitude. Both parents care for the young through the summer months but the family begins to disperse in autumn. Often active on mild winter days, swift fox may fall prey to golden eagles, coyotes or automobiles.
Extirpated from large parts of its range by predator culling in the early 1900s, this handsome fox has since been reintroduced in many areas and can be found across the High Plains from Alberta, Canada, to West Texas. Today, loss of habitat to ranching and agriculture is the primary threat to its survival though, like most canids, it has learned to adapt to human encroachment.
