Forums » Smalltalk » Fox of the Week

1st Red Fox

The red fox has been chosen as the first entry into the week. I chose him because images, cartoons, books and stories, even oral myth all seem to radiate the same similar depiction that is the red fox.

But where does the word fox in our language come from? Well it can be traced back to the ancient Germanic tribes. Though they had an interesting way of saying things. Like when they would see a fox, they would open their mouths wide and scream to the heavens; “Fuk!”

And no, that is not a typo. Ancient Germanic tribes would call foxes, Fuk. So the next time you curse out, just think of the fox. But there is more to translation than that. In Proto-Germanic, foxes were called Fuhsaz. And in Proto-Indo-European, “Puk.” Puk literally means ‘Thick furred.” Over the course of time, it became more common for the Germans to just combine the words into Fuk, and then eventually the Angles-Saxons word ‘Fox’ appeared. And this is where we get the name of the cutest creature to walk the earth.

Red foxes are darn near all over the world, save from parts in South America and Africa. Another reason to be the first Fox of the Week. Red foxes are also the largest of the “True foxes”, what-ever that means. Looking on the wiki, apparently there is a difference between a normal fox and a true fox. Go figure. Well, whatever the case, the Red fox is among the largest of its kind.

It’s also the most deadly. Deadly, not to humans, but to their environment. They are called the worst invasive mammals. Some of you may know where I am going with this. An invasive species is a creature who can be introduced to any environment and quickly adapt. Invasive species not only adapt to their environment, they destroy it.

The Britains wanted to bring foxes to Australia for the hunt. What they had not counted on was the shear growth in their population as well as desolation of entire species. Because of the red fox, many animals in Australia are endangered and it’s continuing to happen.

So what is the solution? How about fox hunting? Yeah, we’ll hunt those foxes…. Er…. Just like…. England? No, that’s not going to work. Australia has tried variety of methods to limit the 6 million population of red foxes. So the Vulpes is hunted, but it’s not enough. There are entire eradication programs dedicated to the specific fox. But even that is not enough. The red fox is just too elusive and wont go anywhere that smells of human, so some bait traps just don't work.

Red fox, we solute your pretty fur, clever evasion, and adaptability.

Translation of the Week:
In South Africa, it would be normal to hear Afrikaans, a language made by the Dutch. Yeah. So to say fox in this strange language, you would have to say “Jakkals.” This could also be used for saying coyote.

Scientific Name:
Vulpes Vulpes

2nd Artic Fox

White or grey, this northern fox is worthy to be Fox of the Week. Who could resist its snow white fur? People who hate foxes? This fox earned its way into Fox of the Week because of its environment. Seriously! The artic fox lives in some of the most extreme conditions. Most people will say it’s due to their thick fur, which helps them survive at negative 50 degrees. But did you know that it shrugs off that temperature? In fact it doesn’t even shiver at negative 90 degrees!

It has fur, on fur, ON FUR! Multi-layered fur coat allows it to survive the deep north, where even hydrogen particles freeze. But it also has a lot of fat and its body stores energy more efficiently than most of its counterparts. Its body is even adapted for the cold. Just look at that short muzzle, short legs, short ears, and fur padded paws. Its body structure is literally meant for keeping the heat in. In fact, this mammal has the best insolation of any land mammal. Take that polar bear!

It feeds mostly on smaller animals and scavenges dead animals. It can determine where the exact location of a mouse is, just by listening. No matter how deep the mouse is, the artic fox can hear them. The fur and short ears does not get in the way of its senses. It also eats fish, birds and eggs.

So what about its status? Yeah it’s endangered. Pour thing. I’m going to go out and research how endangered it is {5 minutes later}. Oh, it’s not. Apparently it’s among the least concerned about endangerment, even if the polar animals are becoming increasingly endangered. In some areas Arctic foxes are becoming rarer, but they are not really a concern. Why? Because the wolf of their area is hunted. And that makes the wolves dare near extinct in the area. This leaves little competition. And sure, a couple of its sub-variants are endangered; the white fox we’ve come to love doesn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon.

In fact, while we’re on the subject. The artic fox has been somewhat of a game animal in Europe. Just like their Red fox cousins, but some countries consider bringing the animal to their land. Not New-Zealand, however. In 1996, they passed an act that pretty much said, “Remember what happened to Australia? Yeah. No!” It appears that the artic fox has been named ‘Hazardous’ as a ‘New Organism’, which means the fox is feared for being adaptive to their environment, and is considered an invasive animal. After all, the artic fox does lose the outer of its coats during summer, looking more grey than white, which means it has no problem adapting.

Translation of the Week:
Are you ready for translation? Let’s look at West Africa and the language Yoruba. In order to learn to say fox, most people go to translate sites. What the sites don’t say is the use of derogatory words. If you tried to google fox in Yoruba, you’ll get “Akata.” This word can closely means ‘cotton picker’, even though there is no word for ‘cotton’ in Yoruba. And calling someone a cotton picker is considered an insult to their custom. But don’t fear, there’s another, more accurate word where you can say fox in Yoruba. “Kolokolo.” Yeah, cute sounding I know.

Scientific Name:
Vulpes Lagopus

This thread really confuses me, especially since I skimmed the wall of text, but I guess you learn some new everyday in "Smalltalk"?

What confuses you the most?

I was confused by the fact that you posted this (I don't mean to sound rude btw ) I mean, I know it's small talk, but this was random. I did read the text this time, btw. It was a very interesting read

Oh, this is actually a thing I'm doing all over the internet. It was inspired by a fellow fox lover, and requested by a friend who seemed to noticed I knew a thing or two about foxes. I understand why you would be confused. I guess I have seen my fair share of random things, I just thought it wouldn't matter that I posted a random fox of the week.

Also glad you read it. Hope you'll be interested in the next fox.

3rd Kit Fox

Among the foxes of the world, I learned real quickly that a Kit fox is not a name of their young, but there is a fox called the Kit fox. Which by the way, they was named sometime in the 19th century, probably because of the fox’s size in reference to a small box of tools, which was a kit. And it makes sense, since the smallest fox in the North America is the Kit fox. Oh yeah, they can only be found native to the United States and some parts of Mexico.

Cut little guys. They live in deserts mostly, which is why they are nicknamed ‘The Desert Fox’. Their bodies are well adapted to the desert. Their large ears developed over the years to exhaust heat, much like their fennec cousins. They also have among the greatest hearing about the foxes. Also, their paws are among the furriest of the species. Their paws have extra traction in the sand due to this factor. This also plays in stealth when they march on rock, not just sand. They use this stealth at night, when temperatures are dry, making them very hard to spot by humans.

So an isolated creature like the Kit fox is endangered, right? Well, not really. While in most of the southern United States and Mexico only, this adorable fox is on the Least Concerned list. Though their numbers are decreasing every year. In fact most of the Kit fox subspecies are endangered. While the Kit fox as a whole remains least concern. So what is causing this?

Well Coyotes seem to be increasing in numbers, and thriving where the Kit fox is losing ground. Plus they hunt the poor fox. Then there is the ever adaptive domestic dogs who go more un-noticed than the fox does. They have been known to kill foxes. There are large birds that Prey on the fox every day. Then there are bob cats in the areas, which doesn’t really help much either. And get this, even though this is the rarest, but even their Red fox cousins are sometimes the cause of the Kit fox deaths. But that is not the biggest reason they are decreasing in population. The biggest reason is... you can guess. Humans. I hate humans!

While the fox itself can adapt to the change in agriculture conversion of its habitat, most of the time they are killed during the process. Agriculture means roads will have to be built, and not the dirt kind. Its these roads that end up killing a lot of foxes. Online sources say that about 75% of deaths of the Kit is caused by animals, well this is true if they was natural deaths. Put all deaths together and you have humans killing them about 65% of the time.

It doesn’t help that, in Mexico, they can legally be hunted and skinned for their fur, which by the way is soooo soft! But there is a illegal issue also. They are one of the smallest foxes, and as such, they are caught and sold on the black market. Both in and out of the United States and Mexico. They have been recorded to be in Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica and even in the domestic portion of central Africa. Huh, pets go along way!

So its no wonder that most of its subspecies is endangered. But fear not, cause there is a bit of help on the way. In many parts of United States, capture of such a creature is prohibited. Hunting is banned, usually resulting in a major fine and/or jail time. But not only that, The United Nations has even named the Kit fox, among many other species, “Forbidden Organism for travel”. Meaning you cant take them out of the US and Mexico.

So That is a small beef about the Kit fox. I know I’ve been bringing up the endangered list a lot, but really its becoming a factor of history. Some people actually thought that all foxes was endangered, when they are not. None of the true foxes are endangered.

Translation of the Week:
Albania has many good ways of saying fox. But if you want to refer to the animal, instead of referring to someone who is foxy, you would say ‘Dhelper’. The DH letters together make a ‘zuh’ sound, so it would be like saying, “Zelper”.

Scientific Name:
Vulpes Macrotis

4th Corsac Fox

The Corsac fox, also known as the Steppe Fox, is a lesser known creature but still among the true foxes. Man I have got to research what a true fox is. Oh well. . . research for later.

According to the ‘Website of Everything’; “A young / baby of a Corsac fox is called a 'cub’, ‘kit’ or ‘pup'. The females are called 'vixen' and males 'reynard’,’ todd’ or ‘dog'. A Corsac fox group is called a 'leash’ or ‘skulk'.” The coloration is predominantly grey or reddish grey on the upper parts with silver undertones, while the under parts are white with yellow undertones. The chin is white and the fur is thick and soft all over. Its large, pointy ears are broad at the base

They are pretty and cute, much like most of their fox cousins. However they are also among the slowest of foxes. So seeing one is fairly easy, if you’re looking for them at night. Most Corsacs are nocturnal, preferring to do their business and hunting at night. Their thick fur has mistaken them for arctic foxes. And why not, they are as poofy as them.

The Corsac fox lives mostly in central Asia, close to Afghanistan and Turkey. There is not much on them as far as behavior goes, such as how they interact with other large animals, so research on them was limited. This is actually one of the foxes I am following. I can’t wait for new developments to come out on the creature

They mostly live in burrows dug by other animals. I guess you could say they are home stealers. Hah. They avoid humans were-ever and when-ever possible. It makes sense, since humans are the most threat…. Wow, humans are the most danger to everything…. We… suck….

The fox is mostly migrant, preferring to constantly keeping moving and roaming, like a nomad, rather than living in one area for too long. So a new home is a temporary one. But what makes this fox stand out even more is that it’s among the most social of foxes… er… to its own kind. Red foxes live in family groups, but the Corsacs prefer to live in community groups, sometimes adopting other foxes into its leash. And while there maybe families in this leash, most of the time, the foxes who group are un-related. They even hunt together.

Like most of its cousins, they are hunted for their fur. Since they are not in the Arctic, and their fur is just as thick, large majority of foxes end up dying to human poachers. A few countries have banned fox hunting. This includes Turkey. Wow, did not see that coming. Above 10,000 foxes are killed for fur a year, and that’s just for their pelts. It’s a good thing they breed fast. Two Corsacs who was caught and put into a Zoo in Moscow, ended up breeding six times, for six litters. Corsacs live close to 9 years. That’s a lot of mating. And it’s because of this that they are considered Least Concerned on the endangered list.

Just two more bits of information before I close this. First, they do not stink as much as Arctic or Red foxes. So most of the time when they are caught, they are sold as pets. And let me tell you, the fact they don’t smell like a red fox is pretty amazing. I’ve smelt a red fox…. From 30 feet away. Not a pleasant odor. Second, the Corsac fox is the only fox with round pupils. Most fox pupils are slitted or oval shaped, but the Corsac has rounded pupils.

Translation of the Week:
If you journey to the deep areas of South Africa, you’ll see the Ngumi…. Er… Nguni tribes. They speak the language Xhosa, which is pronounced (Kos’eh, or Koh). So saying fox in this language must be easy right…. Hah! No! Impungutye is how you would say it. They word sounds like it is spelled. But literally, it means ‘The fox’.

Scientific Name:
Vulpes corsac

5th Ruppell’s Fox

It should be no surprise that some people have never heard of this fox. Most people would think it is a subspecies more than a true species. But the Ruppell’s fox is indeed its own line. Many zoologists seem to agree that the Ruppell’s fox may look like some of its cousins, but it’s distinct personalities is what separates it from the rest, so I thought I would go a little more into that than talk about endangerment, which they are considered Least Concerned. I mean really, are you surprised?

So lets start. A lot of people like to look at the pictures before actually reading the story. I went ahead and posted two pictures as both serve the same purpose of the next couple of lines. First off, I’d like to say I really had to dig deep to get this information. Something that also delayed the production of this fox.

People use to this that think fox was actually Red fox. I mean why not, Red foxes are the most wide-spread of their entire line. Some think it is just another Fennec fox off species, which I thought the same thing, until I came across the most unusual story of how one looked just like a red fox. Turned out that these foxes come in many colors. The more north you go the more they appear to be a red fox, and the more south you go, the more they appear to be a Fennec fox. But clearly the fox is too small to be a red fox and way to big to be the world’s smallest fox {Fennec} Obviously it’s build alone set it apart from the rest of the species, which is how scientists spate animals to begin with.

Just so we’re clear, the Ruppell’s fox lives in northern Africa and extends to the middle-east. Don’t think I mentioned that yet, so it does share territory with the Corsac and the Fennec, even been mistaken for the Corsac, since at some point in their history both foxes was nicknamed ‘The Sand Fox’. To make matters worst they share the region with the Pale fox and the Bladford’s fox, which makes it hard to tell the difference since a lot of them look alike. But it all boils down to size and color.

One feature that they share is that they have fur on the pads of their feet, which helps with traction and protecting their bodies from the harsh hot sand. Of course, they are also adapted to survive colder regions. They live in pairs, eat a lot of insects and often pillage farms and chickens. They are treated as pest, but not to the point where they are outright hunted. Most villages look at these foxes, among others, as just nuisances.

The Ruppell’s fox has much competition, but it does share the same enemy, which is the eagers and raptors of the sky. There re other animals that prey of the Ruppell’s fox, of course, but throughout all its territory, the eagle is the most common. However there is another enemy, one from within.

Its gross to think about this, but some foxes of the region also suffer from Toxoplasma Gondii. A parasite which is found is most meat produce, and is potentially fatal. The parasite causes the disease Toxoplasmosis to occur in the body. The parasite usually goes un-noticed since the disease is usually defeated and maintained by the immune system of healthy animals and humans. But its serious. This disease is actually the leading cause of the fox’s deaths. And I wanted to know why. Was it because all foxes around the area was unhealthy? Did they not get enough to eat? Do foxes have weaker immune systems than humans?

To answer that last question: No, they have stronger immune systems. They eat raw insects, meat and consume dirtier water, which is fatal to humans in certain circumstances. And as I looked around the region of the Ruppell’s fox, I learned that their primary food sources do not go exhausted for long periods of time, meaning they could not go the necessary length of time it would take before the body would undergo the changes that weaken the immune system. So, it was then that they was unhealthy, then? Well no. Most foxes was healthy in every way. And I’m not limiting Ruppell’s fox to this equation either. These past few weeks, I dug deep to find the answer, and then I just focused on the disease itself.

Turns out that the disease was not my target either, I was the parasite. Hard to detect and hard to get rid of, the parasite never really goes away. It just waits, constantly producing chemicals that fuel the disease. All that’s required is a weakened state in the fox and then that’s when it sets in. Apparently there is a coordination problem and blurred vision that is instilled on the fox, and usually they end up in situations they would not be in, had they not had the disease.

Not to mention the disease is complete transmutable between parent and offspring. Meaning the parasite and disease could be infecting more than half the population. And that’s not the worst part. Turns out cubs are usually killed by this disease, well the runts are. As I looked more into this parasite, I learned that most of the world’s population has no idea of its existence, and that it could go un-noticed for years and years, until the parasite does dies.

Remember how I said the Parasite doesn’t go away, that’s only within cats and apparently some foxes. The parasite cannot reproduce in humans. So to set your worries, you’ll be just fine as long as you are healthy.

Ok lets get off the parasite subject. I just wanted to share what I found in my fox studies since to me, it did seem relevant to me at the time.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have declared the Ruppell’s fox a protected animal, forbidding the hunting of them. I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about this, but this is interesting. Here’s the thing, The Ruppell’s fox is not endangered, but those in the middle east feel they will be. Israel has some in captivity in a effort to increase populations.

So why protect them and from whom?
{Duh, Milo, From hunters of course!}
Well, I thought the same thing. Up until this point I only researched foxes in the USA and Europe. This is actually the first time doing a African fox. Truth is, the Ruppell’s fox is too big to be the ideal Fennec pet size. They are not hunted for food… er… much, nor for their fur…. Much. They are not sold as pets and only a few have been captured. When you get into African foxes, things change. The hunting, the selling, the poaching. Israel was protecting the fox more from itself rather than hunters. Once hunting started, they made it official that hunting the Ruppell’s fox was illegal in their area, and the United Arab Emirates are right at their backs.

One last bit of information. I’m sure you’ve already looked this up if you are a deep researcher, but just thought I would tell you that the Ruppell’s fox was named after the German Zoology collector, Eduard Ruppell, who died 300 years ago or something like that.

Translation of the Week:
If you are from Ethiopia, then you’ll recognize this language. It is the second most prevalent Semitic language of the region; Amharic. So, how does one say fox? I’ll be honest. I have no definite answer. Apart from Translation sites, there is no conclusive way to translate fox without having to deviate to another language. But I did manage to link it up. Some of you may say I got it from Google Translate, and I’ll admit I did use it once all things fell, but then I researched the connection and it’s as accurate as most other information I found…. “k’eyi k’ebero” is how you say fox. For the life of me, I cannot pronounce it, seriously I tried.

Scientific Name:
Vulpes rueppellii

6th Fennec fox

The fennec fox or fennec is a small nocturnal fox found in the Sahara of North Africa. Its name comes from the Arabic word فنك (fanak), which means fox, and the species name zerda comes from the Greek word xeros which means dry, referring to the fox's habitat. The more you know, huh?

Those cute large ears are mostly there to help with heat, allowing heat to leave more freely. It has padded feet-paws which help with traction in the sand, making it pretty fast, and those same padded paws keep it’s feet protected from hot rocks and sand. Though mostly, they are nocturnal animals. In fact most of the fox’s build is meant to keep heat out. The fur is thin, yet soft. Even its blood system and kidneys are designed for water preservation. This fox is hard to dehydrate.

The Fennec Fox pretty much eats small mammals, such as mice. It eats insects and birds, and even scavenges what is left from carcasses. It mostly has to worry about eagles, and owls, and apparently a species of bird called eagle-owls. Heh. There are hyenas of course.

But you probably want to hear some fancy stuff. Well sit there and continue reading cause there is some things about this fox that I found interesting. First is it’s scientific name. Vulpes Zerda. So why is it interesting? Well, as it turns out, This fox, may not even be a true fox, I’ll explain true fox in a bit. But there are some zoologists that argue that the Fennec fox should be its own Genius…. Er…. Genus. But why do they argue this? It’s because that the physical and social traits do not share that of any true fox.

Starting with the physical traits, The Fennec doesn’t even stand like a fox. As canid as it is, it actually stands more like you would expect a Chihuahua to stand. It’s ears are way to large in comparison to other foxes, which shouldn’t matter, but in the world of classification, it does. Many argue that its genus should be Fennecus Zerda, not Vulpes. And that the Fennec is not a true fox, okay I had to research the true fox thing.

Aparently, in order for a fox to be true, it has to be in the genus of Vulpes. And al-together, there are a total of 12…. What? 12? I have a list of 25 fox species and only 12 is true foxes? That means only 12 belong to the vulpes genus. So what is this saying? Well, some suggest that the fennec should be its own genus, and that its species should not be classed as true fox.

Now I know, what about it’s social traits? Well I don’t want to get in this. Don’t get me wrong, it lives in packs, and often prefers to sleep together, sometimes on top of each other, and that makes it different from other foxes, who are more solidary. But we know very little. All we know about it’s social traits is what we have observed in captivity. No one has actually gone out of their way to observe the fennec in the wild, so I don’t really want to talk about the social traits, since there is nothing to really talk about. The ecology of this creature is just speculation, nothing real solid.

So going back to physical traids. The fennec lacks the musk scent glands found in most foxes. And if living in packs was not enough to convince us, now they’re saying the fennec only has 32 chromosomes, while its cousins have 35 or 39. I don’t know if anyone reading this knows anything about chromosomes, but each one is like DNA. Think of a chromosome as a sheet of paper. And on that paper is what makes the fox, a fox. Its these chromosomes that can be found DNA of why they have large ears or short fur. Without getting too deep, the Fennec is not just having fewer chromosomes, but its missing the elements found in nearly every other fox. Mostly it is behavior, but a lot of it is build. Without those 4 or 7 extra sheets of paper, the fennec is almost completely different. Perhaps the argument that they should not be Vulpes is valid.

But it does not change its cuteness, right? I mean it is prized as an exotic pet, sought by many children in China and many collectors around the world. Zoos fight for bids over the next specimen of fennecs to show-case in their habitats. You would think they are endangered, well not really. There is no real number as to how many live in the wild or are surviving or are being killed. But there is also no protection from any agencies, states or countries. The fennec is among the least concerned.

But there is a couple of tid bits I manage to find. First, the Mozilla Firefox project for mobile devices is code-named, Fennec. And the fox is the national animal of Algeria. In fact they love it so much, they named their football team after it, called ‘Les Fennec’.

But now the deeper stuff. Among my research, and this slowed me down a lot, was a picture from 1875. A drawing of a pack of fennec foxes depicting all their nature. You can google this, 1875 picture of fennec fox, and you can see for yourself. But I am not one who just simply lets things go. I went to the backside of the internet, trying to find out where this picture came from, and why it was even drawn, why it was inspired.

What I found was rather surprising. A close-up of the image showed that the picture belonged to a magazine that was featured in Germany and was Germany’s first successful mass-circulation newspaper and a forerunner of all modern magazines, including the magazines I get my Zoology knowledge from. The name of this Magazine was ‘Die Gartenlaube’. It had a longer title, but I rather not try to spell it.

It began in 1853. The issue of the fox came in 1875. The final issue was in 1944, when the Nazi party totally bought it out. It could have gone longer if it wasn’t for the party. Needless to say I had research. Finding the article was a nightmare. Contant google sites being brought up. I had to go to sites that had to be translated, and when I finally found the issue, it was in German.

Okay, so my investigation came to an end abruptly. I cant say it was without merit though. The Fennec fox is in history. Today I am still researching ways to translate the articles. Because all I get is the PDF files in german, and the PDFs are images, not words. So its going to take time to figure out the inspiration behind the drawing.

Translation of the Week:
When it comes to speaking fast, the Arabic language speakers have got it down! It was hard to understand fox being said. Yeah I know someone who taught it to me. ثعالب is the spelling… Don’t know if it will show or not. But the pronunciation is ‘ta3aalib’. Yeah not a typo. The legit spelling to English includes a number. But don’t worry I’ll break down the pronunciation.

Tal [like saying tile with a ‘A’ sound]
euh [like ‘eh’ sound but with a ‘U’]
Buh [More like ‘beh’]
So say it with me. Tal-euh-buh

Scientific name:
Vulpes Zerda {Or Fennecus Zerda if you think it should be its own genus}

7th Bladford’s Fox

Although lacking the bold coloring of the red fox with which it coexists, Blanford’s fox is no less striking. The coat is soft and luxurious, usually being a rusty brown, with grey undercoat and streaked in black guard hairs, while the belly and throat are a light creamy white. A distinct black stripe runs from the nape of the neck down the centre of the back, and the tail is often tipped in black, or less frequently in white. This small fox has a short, slender snout, very large ears, a long, bushy tail, and has been described as having a cat-like appearance and demeanor. The sharply pointed muzzle has a distinctive black stripe extending from the eyes to the top lip.

Its amazing the amount of time it takes to find something interesting about a certain species. But little did I know that I was researching a king. Being the second smallest fox in the world, somehow the Bladford’s fox managed to get the nicknames, Royal fox and king fox. All hail the king of the desert!

This fox usually pairs up with a mate for life, and they tend to share the same den, meaning that some cases, they don’t. Apart from that, they also hunt alone from each mate, which would make sense if one stayed with the pups, but that’s not the case at all. Its actually because they are independent and more free spirited from one another. Which does make sense, since the Bladford’s fox is like the red fox in this aspect.

What is different is their diet. Sure the small mammals, birds and insects are the same, but the Bladford’s fox has something more. Its been recorded that they prefer to eat fruits, like melons, berries, olives and even as far as corn. These foxes are more… fugivores? Funky-vores? Frugivores! Than most other foxes, which means they are semi vegetarian. Kind of cool, but other foxes would think this is weird.

And there are other foxes in the region, as previous foxes noted. Such as the Rupells fox and the Fennec fox. Some regions even share with the Corsac and Hoary foxes as well, So judgement from them is almost a certainty. Of course that is if they judged one another. The Bladford’s fox does seem to be a widespread fox of the desert regions.

Its mostly hunted by humans for the fur, of course. And, as expected, it is of Least concerned on the endangered list. There are just too many of them. One source said that they was listed as Vulnerable on the endangered list. So of course I researched it and found that to be false. Their numbers are too big. The same source even claimed that they was a rare fox, which was not the case at all, since farmers have repeatedly reported sightings, up to 50 a month in one year. They are considered pests, and are way to common. So needless to say, I no longer get my information from that source, which makes me question my other fox research now. On the endangered list, the next step would be Near Threatened, so I laughed at the site and stopped going to it.

While I was looking at this, I decided to get the threats out of the way, so I used the famous Zoology guide to threats for foxes…. Well, not really a guide. Anyway the threats are…. Er… One second…. What? None? I did a lot of research! There is no threats?

Some people might say, “Well duh, humans.” But no, not even they are listed as a threat the Bladford’s population count. It would seem this fox has no threats at all, and I did a lot of looking, even on the wiki there doesn’t list the threats. And when looking at the site I normally go to for their, listed in the category was “No major threat” which is a big deal cause that is where I get their predators from. And most of threat information.

While I’m on that subject, I decided to move to diseases, but sadly there is no research on that either. It appears that the Bladford’s fox information is incomplete, which does sadden me. But are you surprised. I mean what we know of the fennec and Ruppells fox is only what we have observed in captivity. It would make sense that the Bladford’s fox information would be incomplete as well since it does share the same region.

Like the fennec fox, it has large ears for heat dispersion. And a thin coat of what is called soft fur. But the large ears and short fur is really what makes it similar. Unlike other desert foxes, it has no fur or pads on the bottom of its paws, which means they are rougher, and makes it easy for them to climb mountains and rocks. They are found in mountainous regions. Also, note the big bushy tail. It’s bushier than most foxes, and compared to the rest, it has the largest bushy tail among the foxes. Which is saying something. But the biggest thing that separates this fox from the other desert foxes is its locations. Where even fennec foxes would not venture, this fox does. Around the dead sea, temperatures can get scorching 120 degrees. This means over-heat, right? Well no. In broad daylight, this fox, the bladford’s fox has been reported to be ‘napping’ in the sunlight. Remember how the arctic fox survived, the Bladford’s fox is it’s polar opposite. Literally.

Translation of the Week:
The welsh language has been somewhat harder around the Brittain area, and I put it off cause there is about 17 ways to say and describe fox with one word. After careful research I found the most accurate and used word. “llwynog”. This word could mean Red fox as well.

Scientific name:
Vulpes Cana