VULPES BENGALENSIS, the INDIAN FOX 42.1 the Living Animal 42.1.1 Zoology Foxes Are the Smallest Members of the Dog Family with A

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

VULPES BENGALENSIS, THE INDIAN FOX

42.1 The Living Animal

42.1.1 Zoology Foxes are the smallest members of the dog family with a body length of about half a metre.1 They have a well-shaped head with a long, pointed muzzle and large erect ears, which are sharply pointed. They further have a deep-chested muscular body, a long and very bushy tail, and slender, sinewy limbs, which are relatively shorter than in the other canids. Foxes walk on their toes—digitigrade—, which bear short and blunt claws. Their soft-padded feet are small and compact. Foxes grasp their victim at the throat and let it bleed to death. They do not hunt in packs, and can thus kill only small animals, such as rodents, birds, reptiles and insects. Indian foxes are attracted by ﬂ ights of termites or white ants before the onset of the rains. Apart from meat, foxes eat also fruits, nuts, and even the combs and honey of wild bees. Foxes hide and sleep in burrows, or under or among rocks. The Indian or Bengal fox is the common fox of the open country, plains, and the waste and scrub zones of the deserts throughout India from the foothills of the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. The Indian fox rarely enters forest and true desert. Foxes are culture followers: they venture into cultivated lands, especially along irrigation channels where there are small animals to eat.2 Currently, the Indian fox population is on the decline due to habitat destruction and occurs in low densities throughout its range.3

1 Canidae: wolves, jackals, dogs, foxes. See also Chapters 11 ( jackals and wolves), 12 (domestic dogs) and 16 (red dogs). 2 Clason, op. cit. (1979). 3 A. Johnsingh and Y. Jhala 2004, “Indian fox Vulpes bengalensis (Shaw, 1800),” in Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs—2004 Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, ed. C. Sillero-Zubiri, M. Hoffmann and D. Macdonald (Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, 2004), 219–222. 422 VULPES BENGALENSIS

42.1.2 Related Species There are four more fox species on the Indian subcontinent: the red fox (Vulpes vulpes, ﬁ g. 517),4 the corsac fox (V. corsac), the Tibetan sandfox (V. ferrilata), and Blanford’s fox (V. cana). Only the red fox is rather common, whereas the other three fox species are more restricted in distribu- tion. The red fox is larger than the Indian fox, and has a remarkably bushy tail, compared to the Indian fox. Red foxes occasionally raid poultry yards, something the Indian fox rarely does. The red fox is found in the arid zones of Ladakh, Kashmir and the Himalayas as far east as Sikkim, extending its range into the desert zone of north- western India. It is found along streams, in brushwood and cultivated lands, sand dunes, dry rivers, and scrub zones.

42.1.3 Role of Foxes in Society Foxes play no role in South Asian culture and religion. In the Himalayan foothills, they are hunted for their pelts, but whether they are hunted for their meat as well is not known to me. Foxes may raid poultry yards, especially the red fox.

42.2 Indian Foxes in Stone

A fox plays a role in the Story of the Hare on the Moon5 as illustrated on a panel at Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh (third to fourth century; ﬁ g. 366). The story tells about three animals which want to honour a guest. Each animal is depicted twice: to the right they are discussing what to bring as food for the guest and to the left they are actually bringing the promised food item. The canid-like animal resembles a fox most with its small size, compared to that of the otter and the hare. The differences between the individual canid species are, however, minimal. The relatively short limbs are further suggestive of a fox, and the type of gift, a lizard, beﬁ ts the Indian fox. The place of origin favours the Indian fox as well.

4 The red fox is the common fox of Eurasia. 5 Shasha Jataka, Shashapandita Jataka, Pali Jataka 87; for the story, see section 26.2.