How are swift fox surveys conducted? Pattern of Swift Fox Tracks Swift Fox Tracks (walking) (actual size) Several methods can be used to determine if swift fox are present. Scent stations are used The to identify animals by their footprints. Scent stations are constructed by placing a bait or 5 scent lure in an area of finely sifted soil. 8in. 1 8 Carnivores like the swift are attracted to the in. bait and can be detected by the tracks they leave at each station. Another method is the front spotlight survey. Biologists drive designated routes one hour after dark with hopes of 8in. seeing the animal during its most active period. Live-traps may be used in special Swift situations when specific information like 1½ weight or length needs to be obtained. State in. law requires any TPW biologist to obtain 10 in. hind permission from the landowner before entering onto private land. No data can be recorded or reported from private land without specific written permission from the landowner. Fox

What should I do if I see a swift fox?

Contact:

Texas Parks & Wildlife PO Box 659 Canyon, Texas 79015

Phone (806) 655-3782

PWD BR W7000-0032 (3/97) Dispersal of this publication conforms with Texas State Documents Depository Law, and it is available at Texas State Publications Clearinghouse and/or Texas Depository Libraries. IN TEXAS Swift fox (Vulpes velox ) are one of the Dallam Sherman Hansford Ochiltree Lipscomb smallest of the North American foxes. Their Are there swift fox in Texas and where should Hartley Moore Hutchinson Roberts Hemphill historical range includes the short grass I look for them? Oldham Potter Carson Gray Wheeler Deaf Smith Randall Armstrong Donley Collings- prairie regions of 10 states from Texas to worth

Canada. They have been called the farmyard Parmer Castro Swisher Briscoe Hall Child- Historically, swift fox occupied the High ress HHardeman fox by early settlers because of their Bailey Lamb Hale Floyd Motley Cottle Plains region of the Texas Panhandle north Wilbarger Wichita willingness to live in close proximity to Foard Clay Hockley Lubbock Crosby Dickens King Baylor Archer Montague Lamar to Canada. In 1996, TPW biologists Cochran Knox Cooke Grayson Fannin Red River humans. Native Americans gave them the Bowie Delta obtained the first verified record of swifts Yoakum Terry Lynn Garza Kent Stonewall Haskell Throck- Jack Wise Denton Young Collin Hunt Hopkins Titus s morton nklin Cass

a name "lousy fox" due to the unusual number Fr Camp Morri in Texas since 1986. Surveys are ongoing Shackel- Parker Tarrant Rock- Wood Gaines Dawson Borden Scurry Fisher JonesJ Stephens Palo Pinto Dallas wall Rains ford Upshur Marion of fleas present on the foxes and around Kaufman to determine the current distribution of Van Zandt Harrison Hood Ellis Smith Andrews Martin Howard Mitchell Nolan TaylorTa Callahan Eastland Johnson Gregg their dens. er- m Henderson Erath So l Panola the swift fox in Texas. vel Hill Navarro Rusk Glasscock Sterling Coke RunnelsRun Coleman Bosque Loving Winklerkler Ector Midland Brown Anderson Unfortunately, swifts El Paso Hudspeth Culberson Comanche Cherokee Shelby Hamilton Nacogdoches Tom Green McLennan Freestone Ward CraneCUt Upton ReaganR San Swift fox populations have declined since the Reeves Mills Houston Irion Concho Coryell Limestone Leon Augustine have only been found in Falls Angelina McCulloch San Saba Sabine Pecos turn of the century and are currently Lampasas Robertson Newton Bell Trinity Jasper the northwest corner of Crockett Schleicher Menard Burnet Madison Milam Tyler Jeff Davis Mason Llano Polk protected in 6 states. Although they are still Williamson Walker Sutton Kimble Brazos the Panhandle. Grimes San Burleson Terrell Jacinto Lee Hardin considered a furbearer in Texas, the U.S. Fish Presidio Gillespie Blanco Travis Liberty Brewster Montgomery Val Verde Edwards Washington Waller Orange Kerr Hays Bastrop and Wildlife Service considered but ruled Kendall Austin Jefferson Real Comal Caldwell Swift fox are adapted to the flat, Bandera Fayette Harris Chambers Bexar Guadalupe Colorado Fort Bend against placing the swift fox on the federal Kinney Uvalde Medina Lavaca short grass prairie, however, they Gonzales Galveston Wharton Wilson Brazoria endangered species list in 1995. Biologists in DeWitt Jackson have been discovered in Kansas Maverick Zavala Frio Atascosa Karnes Victoria Matagorda the Panhandle are currently working with Goliad and Oklahoma using den sites located Bee Dimmit La Salle McMullen Live Calhoun private landowners to determine the in winter wheat fields, fencerows, and roadside Oak Refugio Webb Aransas distribution, habitat requirements, and Duval Jim San Patricio right-of-ways. During the day, swifts spend their Wells possible threats to swift fox populations. Nueces time in underground dens. They appear above Kleberg With this information, Texas Parks & Wildlife ground soon after nightfall to hunt for rodents Zapata Jim Hogg Brooks Kenedy hopes to develop voluntary conservation Starr and other small prey. Hidalgo strategies for the swift fox. Willacy

Cameron C3_21_2/21 1 C3/21 1 What does a swift fox look like? How can I distinguish between a swift fox den and other animal dens like skunks and badgers? The swift fox is a small cat-sized fox. In the What do they eat? Will they kill livestock? winter, the top of the tail and back are dark Swift fox dens generally have multiple entrances. gray with tan sides and legs. The throat and Swift fox den entrances are 8 inches in diameter Swift fox are small animals and are limited to belly are light tan to white. Swifts can be with a characteristic small sized prey such as rodents, birds, distinguished from red and gray foxes by the reptiles, and insects. Their habit of feeding 8 inches keyhole shape, while black tipped tail and black patches on both skunks are generally on the carcasses of livestock often misleads sides of the muzzle and at the base of the tail. smaller and badgers are people to believe that the swift will kill Red fox have a white-tipped tail while grays larger and more round. young calves, lambs or goat kids. It is have a black mane down the length of the Skunks and badgers will possible that a swift would raid a chicken tail. Swift fox are also much smaller than leave the excavated dirt house; however, they are not believed to be other foxes weighing an average of 5.5 lbs mounded near the as much of a threat to poultry as red or gray while reds and gray foxes average 6.5-11 lbs. entrance while swift fox foxes. Figure 1 shows an example of tracks made by will spread it out away a swift fox. from the entrance.