CORSAC FOXES
Corsac foxes (Vulpes corsac) are also known as corsacs and the steppe foxes. They are medium-sized foxes found in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts in Central Asia, Mongolia and northern China. Unlike red fox, corsac fox lacks the penetrating odor common to other Vulpes. Since 2004, it has been classified as least concern by IUCN, but populations fluctuate significantly, and numbers can drop tenfold within a single year. Their average lifespan in captivity is 13 years. The word "corsac" is derived from the Russian name for the animal, "korsák", which in turn comes from Turkic "karsak".
The corsac fox occurs from the lower Volga river east across a wide area of central Asia, including Turkestan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Tibet, Transbaikalia, and northern Manchuria. /=\ They inhabit steppes and semi-desert and avoid areas used for agricultural purposes, forests, and thickets. They make their homes in adjoining burrows dug by other animals. [Source: Carmen Borsa, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Corsac foxes are carnivores and appear to mainly eat rodents but also consume large quantitities of insects, some pikas, birds and plant material. Their teeth are small. They catch rodents like some other foxes using a characteristic style of leaping into the air, then dropping down on prey so they have less of a chance to escape. Their broad ears help them locate rustles that indicate presence of a rodent. /
On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List they are listed as a species of Least Concern. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. In the late nineteenth century, corsac foxes were commercially trapped on a large scale for their warm and attractive fur. Up to 10,000 pelts were sold annually in western Siberian cities. They were popular pets in the seventeenth century. Today, precise numbers are difficult to estimate but hunting and the plowing of land for agriculture have significantly reduced populations in some areas. These foxes have disappeared from much of their original range. /=\
See Separate Article: FOXES factsanddetails.com
Corsac Fox Characterics and Behavior
Corsac foxes have a head and body length of 45 to 65 centimeters (18 to 26 inches), and a tail 19 to 35 centimeters (7.5 to 13.8 inches) long. Adults weigh from 1.6 to 3.2 kilograms (3.5 to 7.1 pounds). They are slightly smaller than red foxes with larger legs and ears. The upper parts of their body is mainly grey or reddish grey 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.
Corsac foxes are diurnal (active during the daytime), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), nomadic (move from place to place, generally within a well-defined range), and social (associates with others of its species; forms social groups). Their senses of hearing, vision, and smell are excellent. They sense using touch and chemicals usually detected with smell. In captivity they can be very active during the day.
Corsac foxes are excellent climbers but not such great runners, and can easily be caught by even a slow dog. Corsac foxes do not keep a fixed home range and often migrate south when hunting becomes difficult due to deep snow and ice. Corsac foxes are more social than other foxes. Some individuals even live together in the same burrow. In the winter, they form small hunting packs, which may represent mated pairs and their grown young. These foxes live in adjoining burrows which resemble "corsac cities". Their burrows have often been taken over from other animals such as marmots. Self-excavated burrows are usually simple and shallow. /=\
Corsac foxes are monogamous and breeding season is between January and March. The number of offspring ranges from two to 11, with the average number of offspring being five. The gestation period ranges from 49 to 60 days. Young are altricial, meaning that they are born relatively underdeveloped and are unable to feed or care for themselves or move independently for a period of time after birth. But they developed very quickly and are weaned in as few as 28 days. On average females reach sexual or reproductive at around one year and four months. The post-independence period is characterized by the association of offspring with their parents. Males probably help rear young and fight with one another during the breeding season but then remain with the family pack.
Rüppell’s Fox
Rüppell's foxes (Vulpes rueppellii) are also called Rüppell's sand foxes. They are a fox species that lives in desert and semi-desert regions of North Africa, the Middle East, and southwestern Asia. They are named after the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell (1794-1884). About a dozen and half species bear his name. Rüppell’s fox can also be spelled Ruppell’s fox or Rueppell’s fox. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List they are listed as a species of Least Concern. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status.
Rüppell’s foxes are similar to fennec foxes but are a little larger (but still very small for a canid). Both species have large ears. Rueppell’s foxes feeds mostly on insects are well known for their ability to survive in the harshest of conditions. These abilities gave rise to a legend that the fox drinks by keeping its head in the breeze and getting water from the wind. Their lifespan of Rüppell’s foxes in captivity is 6.5 to 12 years. It is believed their lifespan in the wild arrely exceeds six years due to the vagaries of their harsh environment and from pressures such as predation and competition with red foxes.. [Source: Elizabeth Kierepka, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Rüppell’s foxes are fairly widespread. They are found in desert regions through North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, and as far east as Pakistan and as far northwest as Israel and Jordan. In their desert and semi-desert habitats they occupy a wide range of substrates, but are most common in places with sandy or dry, stony desert habitats. Due to competition from red foxes, Rüppell’s foxes have been pushed to more extreme habitats that are too hot and dry for red foxes. Fennec foxes occupy the most forbidding habitats.
Rüppell’s foxes have traditionally not been not hunted very often, but may be have been killed by locals as pests. They are neither sold as pets or hunted for fur and they do play a role in killing many pest species — namely rodents — that can damage to crops. Rüppell’s foxes are considered pests themselves for killing and eating poultry and other domesticated animals. They do carry rabies virus but seemingly less so than red foxes. Rüppell’s foxes are widespread but rare in particular areas. The total population size is unknown. The main threats to these foxes are habitat destruction, poisoning and competition with red foxes for limited resources.
See Separate Article: FOXES OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR, SPECIES africame.factsanddetails.com
Blanford's Fox
Blanford's foxes (Vulpes cana) are also known as Afghan foxes, royal foxes, dog foxes, hoary foxes, steppe foxes, black foxes, king foxes, cliff foxes and Balochistan fox. They are small foxes native to West Asia, Central Asia and parts of South Asia. They are named after the English naturalist William Thomas Blanford, who described them in 1877. Mitochondrial DNA evidence suggests that Blanford's foxes and fennec foxes are sister taxa. The average lifespan of Blandford's foxes is four to five years, and does not exceed 10 years in the wild. Some die from rabies. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List they are listed as a species of Least Concern. [Sources: Wikipedia; Marty Heiser, Animal Diversity Web (ADW)]
Blanford's foxes are found from Egypt in west to Pakistan in the east. Their range in the Middle East and Arabia is fragmented but they occur in Egypt, Israel, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and are expected to occur across the Red Sea in Eritrea and Sudan. They occupy a more continuous range in Central Asia, where they are found in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
Blanford’s foxes live in semi-arid steppes and mountains. They prefer areas with steep, rocky slopes, cliffs, and canyons. Historically, they were thought to avoid hot lowlands as well as cooler uplands. However, they have been observed near the Dead Sea in Israel, where where melons, Russian chives, and seedless grapes are grown. Blanford's foxes have been observed up to elevations of about 2000 meters (6562 feet). An important habitat feature for Blanford's foxes is the presence of dry creek beds. Dens are chosen in areas with large rock piles.
Blanford’s foxes have traditionally been hunted for their pelts. They are regarded as crop pests in some places and be poisoned for that reason. Trapping and hunting have caused large decline in the numbers of these foxes. The main predator of these foxes are humans. There is one case of a Blanford's fox being killed by a red fox. Blanford's foxes are not hard to catch. They show little fear of traps or humans. Young and maybe adults may be taken by large birds of prey such as eagles.
Blanford's Fox Characteristics and Diet
Blandford's foxes are small foxes with large ears and long, bushy tails with long, dark guard hairs. They range in weight from 1.5 to three kilograms (3.3 to 6.6 pounds) and have head to tail length from 70 to 90 (27.5 to 35.4 inches). Their average body length is 42.6 centimeters (16.77 inches). Their mean tail lenth is 32.3 centimeters (12.7 inches). Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. Males have three to six percent longer forelegs and bodies than females.[Source: Marty Heiser, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Males and female Blandford's foxes are similar in appearance. Their snout is slender, giving them a appearance. They also move kind of like cats too. They are black, brown, or grey in color, sometimes blotchy. Their flanks are lighter than their backs, which have a black stripe running down the middle. Their undersides are yellow. The tip of the tail is usually dark but can be white. Like other arid land foxes, Blanford's foxes have large ear which held sense prey and dissipate heat. However, unlike other desert foxes, they do not have pads covered with hair but have have cat-like, curved, sharp semi-retractile claws.
Blanford's foxes are omnivores (eat a variety of things, including plants and animals). Animal foods include insects and occasionally small mammals and lizards. Prey includes beetles, locusts, grasshopper, ants, and termites. Primary wild fruits eaten are two species of caperbush (Capparis cartilaginea and Capparis spinosa), Phoenix dactylifera, Ochradenus baccatus, Fagonia mollis, and Graminea species. Fecal samples reveal up to 10 percent vertebrate remains. In Pakistan they have been recorded eating agricultural crops, including grapes, melons, and Russian olives. Blanford's foxes hunt alone the majority of time. Even mated pairs do so. They rarely cache food and rarely drink water, getting most their water needs form the the foods they eat.
Blanford's Fox Behavior and Movements
Blanford's foxes are terricolous (live on the ground), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area) and solitary. Their average foraging home range is 1.1 square kilometers. Monogamous pairs occupy territories of 1.6 square kilometers, with little overlap between territories. [Source: Marty Heiser, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Blanford's foxes are strictly nocturnal, solitary hunters. They do not exhibit a change in their daily activity with season. They generally become active soon after dusk and are active throughout the night. In Israel Blanford's foxes occur at population densities up to two per square kilometer. They are one of the few fox species to regularly climb, scaling cliffs with ease. Their especially long tail is used as a counter balance when jumping and climbing.
Blanford's foxes sense using vision, touch, sound and chemicals usually detected with smell and communicate with sound. Like other canids, they have excellent vision and keen senses of smell, and hearing. They communicate with chemical cues and with vocalizations.
Blanford's foxes have the ability to climb rocks and make what have been described as "astonishing" jumps, on cliffs leaping to ledges 3 meters (9.8 feet) above them with ease. As part of their regular movements they climb vertical, crumbling cliffs by a series of jumps up vertical sections. The foxes use their sharp, curved claws and naked footpads for traction on narrow ledges. Their long, bushy tails serve as a counterbalance.
Blanford’s Fox Mating, Reproduction and Offspring
Blanford’s foxes are monogamous (having one mate at a time) and engage in seasonal breeding — once each year, with breeding during December and January, and births between March and April. The gestation period ranges from 50 to 60 days. The number of offspring ranges from one to three, with the average number being two. [Source: Marty Heiser, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Young are altricial, meaning they are relatively underdeveloped at birth. Pre-weaning and pre-independence provisioning is done by females and protecting is done by males and females. The age at which young are weaned ranges from 30 to 45 days. Females and males reach sexual or reproductive maturity at eight to 12 months.
Young are dependent on their mothers until they can forage on their own. Females usually give birth in a secluded den, where young can develop under the care of their mother. Because breeding pairs maintain overlapping ranges, males appear to help care to offspring mainly by maintaining an area from which food is supplied. Males have been observed grooming juveniles. Young remain in their natal range until the October or November in the year of their birth. /=\
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, CNTO (China National Tourism Administration) David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.
Last updated May 2025