A nocturnal hunter, the kit or swift fox is rarely seen by day. If surprised, he may hug the ground and lie still, hoping to escape notice. Frightened, he flashes away with his tail straight out behind, running with a smooth-flowing motion as effortless as thistledown floating on a breeze.

        Pressed, he wheels suddenly and takes off in a new direction, throwing his pursuer off balance. Or he may disappear into a handy burrow.

        Scarcely larger than a house cat, this little fox sports a black-tipped tail, and a dark spot on either side of his nose. He roams the western plains and foothills of the Rockies, from Texas to Alberta and Manitoba. A close relative, the desert swift fox (V. macrotis), inhabits arid reaches from California, Nevada, and Utah south into Mexico. It has larger ears than the plains kits fox, and a somewhat paler coat. Otherwise the two can hardly be told apart.

        Home may be an abandoned badged or prairie dog hole. Usually, however, the kit fox digs its own hole, taking care to make both a front and back entrance. Here four or five young are reared during the spring and summer.

        Usual prey of the kit fox includes kangaroo rats, ground squirrels, and other small rodents, as well as rabbits, lizards, birds, beetles, and grasshoppers. It even eats grass and fruit.

        Shy and guileless, this handsome little wild dog does not have the red fox’s cunning or the coyote’s sophistication. It has thinned out in many areas because it eats poison bait out out for the wary coyote.

        Shoulder height 12 in. Weight 4-6 lbs. Range: plains and deserts, Canada to Mexico. Characteristics: small size, big ears, black-tipped tail, generally nocturnal.

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