The Cape fox (Vulpes chama), also called the asse, cama fox or the silver-backed fox, is a small species of fox, native to southern Africa. It is the only "true fox" occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, and it retains primitive characteristics of Vulpes because it diverged early in the evolutionary history of the group.
Description
Vulpes chama is a small-built canid, usually measuring long, not including its tail, which is typically . It is tall at the shoulder, and usually weighs from . The skull is very similar to that of V. bengalensis, although the cranium of V. chama is slightly wider and the maxillary region is slightly shorter. The head is dull red and the lower jaw is dark brown. There are white marks on the throat. The legs are more tawny than the rest of the body. The tail is dense and bushy, and can be silvery, pale fawn, buff with brown or black tips, or dull yellow. The tail tip is always black,
Distribution and habitat
Cape fox is the only species in the genus Vulpes that exists in Africa south of the equator. It primarily occupies arid and semi-arid areas, but in sections, such as the fynbos biome of the western Cape Province of South Africa, the species reaches areas of higher rainfall and denser vegetation. It is widespread in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa, occurring in most parts of the Western and Northern Cape provinces, the Eastern Cape (excluding the southeastern side), the Free State, western and northwestern KwaZulu-Natal and the North-West province. It also occurs in Lesotho, a high mountainous region.
Behavior
The Cape fox is nocturnal and most active just before dawn or after dusk; it can be spotted during the early mornings and early evenings. During the day, it typically shelters in burrows underground, holes, hollows, or dense thickets. It is an active digger that will excavate its own burrow, although it generally modifies an abandoned burrow of another species, such as the springhare, to its specific requirements. Other food items include: gerbils; field mice and other small rodents, hares, birds; bird nestlings and eggs, diverse vegetable material, including wild fruit, berries, seeds, roots, and tubers; lizards, insects, such as white ants, beetles and their larvae, and locusts. They are known to cache food in holes. monogamous pairs may occur, but the duration and persistence from year to year is not well known.
The female Cape fox has a gestation period of 51 to 53 days and gives birth to a litter of one to six cubs (or kits). They typically weigh from at birth. Reared underground in burrows, the cubs stay close to the den until they are about four months old. Several females may also share simultaneously the same den. The cubs are weaned around six to eight weeks of age, but do not begin to forage until they are four months old and often play outside during daylight hours. These control measures do not seem to have had a major impact on populations of the Cape fox, even though they have resulted in declines in some areas.