They’re Still Endangered? You’ve got to be Kitten Me…
San Joaquin Kit Fox
Aubree Boswell
Description and Ecology of Organism –
The San Joaquin Kit Fox, Vulpes macrotis mutica, is the smallest member of the dog family (Canidae) in North America. Distinguishable characteristics of the San Joaquin kit fox are the slim body with long slender legs, pointy ears, and a tapered, bushy tail. The coat of the kit fox is a tan color during the summer and a silvery gray color in the winter. Due to this variation in coat color, the kit fox is often mistaken for a red fox or even a small coyote. These mammals live in dens and are known to change dens several times per year and even more when using the den as a natal den. Because of the dynamic movement of these animals, kit foxes often take over the dens of other animals like ground squirrels, badgers, and coyotes. Their dens are used for breeding, temperature regulation, shelter from extreme environmental conditions, and cover from predators. Being smaller animals, the kit fox tends to be subject to predation by larger species of the Canidae family such as coyotes, domestic dogs, and the non-native red fox. To avoid predation by these larger animals, kit foxes are active at night, or nocturnal, and are active throughout the year. They travel an average of nine miles a day in search of food which consists of insects, kangaroo rats and mice, and rabbits. The San Joaquin Kit Fox is considered an umbrella species meaning the recovery of their populations and habitat can benefit other plants and animals in the kit fox habitat.
Above information adapted from Recovery Plan for Upland Species of the San Joaquin Valley
Kit fox returning to den with pup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNK6W93I_nc
Geographic and Population Changes –
Before 1930, the kit fox appeared throughout most of the San Joaquin Valley. This area extended from Kern Country north to Contra Costa County and then Stanislaus County. The species could be found in grassland, scrubland, and wetland ecosystems. Today much of these ecosystems have been developed into urban, agricultural, and industrial areas resulting in the fragmentation of much of the kit fox’s habitat. Their population is steadily decreasing from several hundreds of thousands of kit foxes in the San Joaquin Valley to approximately 7,000 (Vaughn, 2002).
Listing Date and Type of Listing –
Federally listed March 11, 1967 as an endangered species in the California/Nevada region.
Cause of Listing and Main Threats to its Continued Existence –
As previously mentioned, the San Joaquin Kit Fox faces serious habitat loss and degradation as industrial, agricultural, and urban projects are developed within its habitat. However, the kit fox is not only experiencing detrimental habitat loss. The effects of pesticides and rodenticides used in the agricultural areas are also creating serious problems for the already declining populations. Being a small mammal, kit foxes rely on even smaller mammal prey such as rodents which are reduced significantly by the use of rodenticides. Due to the biomagnification of the rodenticides once they enter the kit fox’s body, the animal is likely to die soon after consuming captured prey that has ingested the poison.
WARNING! The following video is very hard to watch. I chose to include it because it speaks louder than any statistics I can present about the issues regarding rodenticides and the kit fox. This video depicts the adverse effects (convulsions from internal bleeding) that resulted after a San Joaquin kit fox consumed rat poison:
Description of Recovery Plan –
The goals of the Recovery Plan for Upland Species of the San Joaquin Valley specifically regarding the San Joaquin kit fox include items such as:
- Protecting and enhancing the current habitats of the kit foxes throughout the San Joaquin Valley and surrounding areas.
- Protecting the corridors of movement for the kit foxes so that the habitats are less fragmented.
- Expand and connect the existing reserves and refuges.
- Determine the current geographic distribution and population status of the kit foxes.
- Determine direct and indirect effects of rodent and rabbit control programs on kit foxes.
Above information summarized from the Recovery Plan for Upland Species of the San Joaquin Valley
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