Short yips are passed between animals to communicate, but since the pairs usually stay together, no long distance communication is known or thought necessary. Scent is used to define territory, but the foxes are not known to actively defend their area.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
V. ferrilata was formerly (1996) on the IUCN Redlist as a species of Lower Risk (least concern), but is currently unlisted.
US Migratory Bird Act: no special status
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Kits do not emerge from the den for some weeks after their birth, but quickly develop, and within 8-10 months are sexually mature. (Schaller, 2000)
These animals apparently have no negative impact on humans.
The only known predators of this species are humans, who commonly trap and kill V. ferrilata for their fur. There is a large industry in the higher areas of Tibet and Nepal for the fox’s fur, which is usually made into hats. The fur is prized for this, because of its great ability to protect its wearer from the wind and other elements.
Positive Impacts: body parts are source of valuable material
Tibetan sand foxes play a significant role in controlling the rodent and small animal population. They may also help to aerate the soil by digging their dens.
Ecosystem Impact: soil aeration
Foxes hunt in pairs (one male, one female) and will share whatever food is caught. They eat mostly rodents, hares, rabbits, and small ground birds. However, anything that can be caught will be eaten. The Black lipped pika, also sharing the same range and habitat, seems to be a preferred prey item.
Animal Foods: birds; mammals; eggs
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates)
Tibetan foxes have been known to inhabit the Tibetan plateau of India, China, Sutlej valley of northwestern India and parts of Nepal, specifically the Mustang district.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native )
Tibetan sand foxes have been reported to inhabit barren slopes and streambeds. They appear to prefer rocky or brushy areas at high elevation. They are found on the Tibetan Steppe at a maximum altitude of 5.300 m. These animals live in excavated dens or burrows under rocks or in crevices of boulder piles.
Range elevation: 5300 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: chaparral ; scrub forest ; mountains
Some researchers assume a lifespan of 8-10 years under ideal circumstances. Most foxes are lost to natural causes or human trackers before their fifth year.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 8 to 10 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 5 (high) years.
Tibetan sand foxes range in color from black, to brown and rusty-colored, to yellowish on neck and back. They possess a tawny band on the dorsal region and white on the tail, muzzle and belly. The fur is thick, with a dense undercoat.
From nose to tail, The head and body length of Vulpes ferrilata measures from 575 to 700 mm. The tail adds an additional 400 to 475 mm to the total length. These animals weigh between 3 and 4 kg. There is no information available on sexual differences in size. The muzzle is elongated relative to most fox species. The teeth are well developed with extraordinarily long canines and narrow maxilla.
Range mass: 3 to 4 kg.
Range length: 975 to 1175 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
When threatened, Tibetan sand foxes retreat to their dens.
Known Predators:
V. ferrilata is apparently monogamous, with mated pairs staying together for life.
Mating System: monogamous
Mating season falls around late February to early March, and pairs of foxes stay together and are life-long mates. They live, hunt and share the responsibility of raising the young together. The gestation period is thought to be 50 to 60 days. Kits are born in late April to early May. The litter size ranges from 2 - 5 kits. The kits do not emerge from the den for some weeks after birth, so the exact gestation period is unknown.
Breeding interval: It seems these animals breed once annually.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs in late February or early March.
Range number of offspring: 2 to 5.
Range gestation period: 50 to 60 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous
All canid young are altricial. V. ferrilata young o not emerge from their natal dens until they are several weeks old. The exact timing of weaning has not been reported. Because the species is monogamous, both parents are involved in caring for the young.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; altricial ; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); extended period of juvenile learning
The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), also known as the Tibetan sand fox, is a species of true fox endemic to the high Tibetan Plateau, Ladakh plateau, Nepal, China, Sikkim, and Bhutan, up to elevations of about 5,300 m (17,400 ft). It is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List, on account of its widespread range in the Tibetan Plateau's steppes and semi-deserts.[2]
The Tibetan fox is small and compact, with a soft, dense coat, conspicuously narrow muzzle, and bushy tail. Its muzzle, crown, neck, back and lower legs are tan to rufous coloured, while its cheeks, flanks, upper legs and rumps are grey. Its tail has white tips. The short ears are tan to greyish tan on the back, while the insides and undersides are white.[4] Adult Tibetan foxes are 60 to 70 centimetres (24 to 28 in), not including tail, and have tail lengths of 29 to 40 cm (11 to 16 in). Weights of adults are usually 4 to 5.5 kg (8.8 to 12.1 lb).[5]
Among the true foxes, its skull is the most specialised in the direction of carnivory;[6] it is longer in the condylobasal length, and in mandible and cheek tooth length, than those of hill foxes. Its cranial region is shorter than that of hill foxes, and the zygomatic arches narrower. Its jaws are also much narrower, and the forehead concave. Its canine teeth are also much longer than those of hill foxes.[7]
The Tibetan fox is restricted to the Tibetan Plateau in western China and the Ladakh plateau in northern India. It occurs north of the Himalayas in the northernmost border regions of Nepal and India, across Tibet, and in parts of the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang, Yunnan and Sichuan.[2] It primarily inhabits semi-arid to arid grasslands, well away from humans or from heavy vegetation cover. It lives in upland plains and hills from 3,500 to 5,200 m (11,500 to 17,100 ft) elevation, and has occasionally been sighted at elevations of around 2,500 m (8,200 ft).[8]
The Tibetan fox primarily preys on plateau pikas, followed by rodents, marmots, woolly hares, rabbits, small ground birds and lizards.[9] It also scavenges on the carcasses of Tibetan antelopes, musk deer, blue sheep and livestock. Tibetan foxes are mostly solitary, daytime hunters as their main prey, pikas, are diurnal.[4] Tibetan foxes may form commensal relationships with brown bears during hunts for pikas. The bears dig out the pikas, and the foxes grab them when they escape the bears.[5]
Mated pairs remain together and may also hunt together.[10] After a gestation period of about 50 to 60 days, two to four young are born in a den, and stay with the parents until they are eight to ten months old.[8] Their burrows are made at the base of boulders, at old beach lines and low slopes. Dens may have four entrances, with entrances being 25–35 cm in diameter.[4]
Tibetan foxes in the Sêrxü County of China's Sichuan province are heavily infected with Echinococcus, while foxes in western Sichuan are definitive hosts of alveolar hydatid disease.[4]
A photograph of a Himalayan marmot under attack by a Tibetan fox won the first prize in the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.[11]
The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), also known as the Tibetan sand fox, is a species of true fox endemic to the high Tibetan Plateau, Ladakh plateau, Nepal, China, Sikkim, and Bhutan, up to elevations of about 5,300 m (17,400 ft). It is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List, on account of its widespread range in the Tibetan Plateau's steppes and semi-deserts.
