https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Tibetan_foxTibetan fox - Revision history2026-10-25T12:36:11ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tibetan_fox&diff=541260&oldid=prevWernerStoate3: new info2026-05-06T03:25:52Z<p>new info</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Species of true fox}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}<br />
{{Speciesbox<br />
| name = Tibetan fox<br />
| image = Vulpes ferrilata.jpg<br />
| status = LC<br />
| status_system = IUCN3.1<br />
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Harris, R. |date=2014 |title=''Vulpes ferrilata'' |volume=2014 |article-number=e.T23061A46179412 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T23061A46179412.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref><br />
| genus = Vulpes<br />
| species = ferrilata<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Wozencraft |id=14000872 |heading=Species ''Vulpes ferrilata''}}</ref><br />
| authority = [[Brian Houghton Hodgson|Hodgson]], 1842<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hodgson|first1=B. H. |title=Notice of the Mammals of Tibet, with Descriptions and Plates of some new Species |journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |date=1842 |volume=11 |issue=124 |pages=278–279 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiatic111asia/page/278}}</ref><br />
| range_map = Tibetan Fox area.png<br />
| range_map_caption = Tibetan fox range<br />
| synonyms = * ''Vulpes ferrilatus''<br />
* ''Vulpes ekloni'' (Przewalski, 1883)<br />
* ''Canis ferrilatus''<br />
* ''Canis ekloni''<br />
* ''Neocyon ferrilatus''<br />
* ''Neocyon ekloni''<br />
}}<br />
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The '''Tibetan fox''' ('''''Vulpes ferrilata'''''), also known as the '''Tibetan sand fox''', is a [[species]] of [[Vulpes|true fox]] [[endemic]] to the high [[Tibetan Plateau]] and [[Bhutan]], [[China]], [[India]] and [[Nepal]] up to elevations of about {{cvt|5300|m}}. 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.<ref name=iucn/><br />
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== Characteristics ==<br />
[[File:Vulpes ferrilata 367800858 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Tibetan fox with prey in China]]<br />
The Tibetan fox has a soft and dense [[rufous]] coloured coat from the crown, neck, back to the lower legs. Its muzzle is narrow, its cheeks, flanks, upper legs and rumps are grey, and its bushy tail has white tips. The short ears are tan to greyish tan on the back, while the insides and undersides are white.<ref name=Sillero-Zubiri2004/> Adult Tibetan foxes are {{cvt|60|to|70|cm}}, not including tail, and have tail lengths of {{cvt|29|to|40|cm}}. Weights of adults are usually {{cvt|4|to|5.5|kg}}.<ref name=Harris>{{cite journal |author=Harris, R. B. |author2=Wang, Z. H. |author3=Zhou, J. K. |author4=Liu, Q. X. |name-list-style=amp |year=2008 |title=Notes on biology of the Tibetan fox (''Vulpes ferrilata'') |journal=Canid News |volume=11 |pages=1–7 |url=http://www.canids.org/canidnews/11/Biology_of_Tibetan_fox.pdf}}</ref><br />
[[File:Side_view_of_a_Tibetan_Fox_skull.jpg|thumb|Side view of a Tibetan fox skull ]]<br />
[[File:Top_view_of_a_Tibetan_Fox_skull.jpg|thumb|Top view of a Tibetan Fox skull ]]<br />
[[File:Front_view_of_a_Tibetan_Fox_skull.jpg|thumb|Front view of a Tibetan fox skull]]<br />
Among the true foxes, its skull is the most specialised in the direction of carnivory;<ref name=Heptner>{{Cite book |last1=Heptner|first1=V. G. |last2=Naumov|first2=N. P. |title=Mammals of the Soviet Union |volume=II Part 1a, Sirenia and Carnivora (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears) |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Libraries and The National Science Foundation |location=Washington, D.C. |orig-date=1967 |year=1998 |chapter=Genus ''Vulpes'' Oken, 1816 |pages=385–570 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mammalsofsov211998gept/page/388}}</ref> 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 arch]]es narrower. Its jaws are also much narrower, and the forehead concave. Its [[canine teeth]] are also much longer than those of hill foxes.<ref name=Pocock1941>{{Cite book|last=Pocock|first=R. I.|title=Fauna of British India: Mammals|publisher=Taylor and Francis |year=1941 |volume=2 |location=London |pages=140–146 |chapter=''Vulpes ferrilata'' Hodgson. The Tibetan Sand Fox |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/PocockMammalia2/page/n157}}</ref><br />
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== Distribution and habitat ==<br />
The Tibetan fox is restricted to the [[Tibetan Plateau]] in western China and the [[Ladakh]] plateau and [[Sikkim]] in 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]].<ref name=iucn/> 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 {{cvt|3500|to|5200|m}} elevation, and has occasionally been sighted at elevations of around {{cvt|2500|m}}.<ref name=Clark2008>{{cite journal |author1=Clark, H. O. |author2=Newman, D. P. |author3=Murdoch, J. D. |author4=Tseng, J. |author5=Wang, Z. H. |author6=Harris, R. B. |name-list-style=amp |year=2008 |title=''Vulpes ferrilata'' (Carnivora: Canidae) |journal=Mammalian Species |pages=1–6 |issue=821 |doi=10.1644/821.1 |doi-access=free}}</ref><br />
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Due to the generalized nature of the Tibetan fox, its distribution has been greatly affected by [[climate change]]. Due to the rising temperatures of the Tibetan Plateau, its suitable habitat has shifted towards higher elevations on the plateau. This has caused its range to further overlap with the [[red fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes'') and increased the competition between the two species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zhang |first=J. |last2=Jiang |first2=F. |last3=Gao |first3=H. |last4=Gu |first4=H. |last5=Song |first5=P. |last6=Zhang |first6=T. |date=2025 |title=Dynamics of suitable habitats for typical predators and prey on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau driven by climate change: A case study of Tibetan Fox, Red Fox, and Plateau Pika |journal=Ecology and Evolution |volume=15 |issue=4 |page=e71295 |doi=10.1002/ece3.71295 |pmc=12008021 |pmid=40256266}}</ref><br />
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== Behaviour and ecology ==<br />
The Tibetan fox primarily preys on [[plateau pika]]s, followed by [[rodent]]s, [[marmot]]s, [[woolly hare]]s, [[rabbit]]s, small ground [[bird]]s and [[lizard]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Vulpes_ferrilata/|title=Vulpes ferrilata (Tibetan fox)|first=Melissa|last=Borgwat|website=Animal Diversity Web|access-date=6 April 2023}}</ref> It also scavenges on the carcasses of [[Tibetan antelope]]s, [[musk deer]], [[blue sheep]] and livestock. Tibetan foxes are mostly solitary, daytime hunters as their main prey, pikas, are diurnal.<ref name=Sillero-Zubiri2004>{{Cite book |last1=Sillero-Zubiri|first1=C. |last2=Hoffman|first2=M. |last3=MacDonald|first3=D. W. |title=Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs - 2004 Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |chapter=Tibetan Fox |chapter-url=http://www.canids.org/species/Tibetan_fox.pdf |publisher=IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group |year=2004 |isbn=2-8317-0786-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060708071516/http://canids.org/species/Tibetan_fox.pdf|archive-date=2006-07-08}}</ref> Tibetan foxes may form [[Commensalism|commensal]] relationships with [[brown bear]]s during hunts for pikas. The bears dig out the pikas, and the foxes grab them when they escape the bears.<ref name="Harris"/><br />
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Mated pairs remain together and may also hunt together.<ref name=Liu>{{cite journal | author = Liu, Q.X. | author2 = R. B. Harris | author3 = X.M. Wang | author4 = Z.H. Wang | name-list-style = amp | year = 2007 | title = Home range size and overlap of Tibetan foxes (''Vulpes ferrilata'') in Dulan County, Qinghai Province | journal = Acta Theriologica Sinica | volume = 27 | pages = 370–75|language=zh}}</ref> After a [[gestation period]] of about 50 to 60 days, two to four young are born in a [[Burrow|den]], and stay with the parents until they are eight to ten months old.<ref name=Clark2008/> Their burrows are made at the base of boulders, at old beach lines and low slopes. Dens may have four entrances, with entrances being {{convert|25|–|35|cm|abbr=on}} in diameter.<ref name=Sillero-Zubiri2004/><br />
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=== Diseases and parasites ===<br />
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]].<ref name=Sillero-Zubiri2004/><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
{{commons category|Vulpes ferrilata}}<br />
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{{Carnivora|Ca.}}<br />
{{Taxonbar|from=Q319070}}<br />
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[[Category:Vulpes|Tibetan fox]]<br />
[[Category:Mammals of Tibet]]<br />
[[Category:Mammals of Nepal]]<br />
[[Category:Mammals of India]]<br />
[[Category:Mammals of Bhutan]]<br />
[[Category:Fauna of Ladakh]]<br />
[[Category:Fauna of Sikkim]]<br />
[[Category:Mammals described in 1842|Tibetan fox]]<br />
[[Category:Taxa named by Brian Houghton Hodgson]]</div>WernerStoate3