Caroline Arnold - Fox

CONTENTS

PHOTO CREDITS: Permission to use the following photographs is gratefully acknowledged: the Baltimore Zoo, .

Text copyright 2013, 1996 by Caroline Arnold. Photographs copyright 2013, 1996 by Richard Hewett. All rights reserved.

Published by Seymour Science LLC

Printed edition originally published in 1996 by William Morrow and Company

Except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and articles, no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher. Contact: Starwalk Kids Media, 15 Cutter Mill Road, Suite 242, Great Neck, NY 11021

www.StarWalkKids.com

ISBN 978-1-623345-28-0

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Arnold, Caroline. Fox / by Caroline Arnold; photographs by Richard Hewett. Includes index. Summary: Describes these members of the dog family that are easily recognized by their long snouts, large ears, and bushy tails and that live in many different habitats. ISBN 0-688-13728-8 (trade)ISBN 0-688-13729-6 (library) 1. FoxesNorth AmericaJuvenile literature. [1. Foxes.] I. Hewett, Richard, ill. II. Title.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the staffs and volunteers at the following zoos for their cheerful assistance while we were working on this project: the Los Angeles Zoo, the California Living Museum (Bakersfield), the Living Desert Wildlife and Botanical Park (Palm Desert), all in California; the Baltimore Zoo, Maryland; and the Dakota Zoo, Bismarck, North Dakota. We also appreciate the help of our friends Don Jim and Barney Schlinger. And, as always, we thank our editor, Andrea Curley, for her continued support.

As the afternoon sun sinks in the sky, a kit fox rests on a rocky ledge and looks out on the surrounding desert landscape. Its eyes and ears are alert as it watches for the movements of small animals in the shadows and listens for noises. Soon the air will cool, and it will be time for the fox to go hunting. With sharp senses and quick reflexes, the tiny kit fox is an expert at catching the leaping rodents, scurrying lizards, and unwary birds that are its food. This wily and resourceful predator is the smallest North American fox. It shares many characteristics with other kinds of foxes, but it is unique in its ability to thrive in the dry and often extreme conditions of the desert.

The kit fox is found in desert and semidesert regions of the western United States and in northwestern and north-central Mexico. Every part of the kit foxs body helps it to survive in these arid regions. In summer, daytime temperatures in the desert soar to more than 100 F (38 C), but in winter and at night, the desert air can be freezing cold. Thick fur protects the kit foxs body from both heat and cold. Stiff tufts of hair on the soles of its feet protect them from the hot ground. They also help the feet get a better grip when the fox is walking or running across loose sandy surfaces.

The inner surfaces of the kit foxs ears are covered with thick fur that helps to keep out sand. As with many other mammals that live in the desert, the kit fox has ears that are unusually large, and this helps it stay cool. The large surface of the ears provides space for many tiny blood vessels, and as desert breezes blow across them, the blood inside the ears is cooled. The blood then flows to the rest of the foxs body and cools it.

Kit foxes also cool off by opening their mouths and panting. As water evaporates from the tongue, it takes heat away from the body. (Foxes do not have sweat glands except for a few between their toes.)

The kit foxs light-colored coat helps keep its body cool by reflecting the suns heat. It also makes the fox hard to see against the sandy color of the desert floor. This helps the fox both to hide from danger and to sneak up on the animals that are its food.

Kit fox.

Desert-dwelling foxes are often not as big as other foxes. The kit fox weighs only 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) or less; in fact, it gets its name because its small size makes it resemble a young fox, called a kit or a pup. The fennec fox of the Sahara Desert in Africa weighs only 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) and is the smallest fox in the world. Because their bodies are smaller, these foxes need less food; and in a desert environment, where food is scarce, that advantage can increase their chances for survival.

Fennec fox.

Kit fox in its zoo enclosure.

There are 21 species of foxes in the world. With their long snouts, large ears, and bushy tails, they are easy to recognize. Foxes live in many different kinds of habitats, ranging from deserts to arctic tundra and from dense woodlands to open plains. The species that live in North America are the red fox, gray fox, island gray fox, arctic fox, kit fox, and swift fox.

You may have foxes close to where you live. You can also learn about them by visiting a zoo or wildlife park. Many zoos that feature desert wildlife have exhibits of kit foxes.