The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), also known as the Tibetan sand fox, is a species of true fox endemic to the high Tibetan Plateau and Bhutan, China, India and Nepal up to elevations of about . 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.
thumb|Side view of a Tibetan fox skull
thumb|Top view of a Tibetan Fox skull
thumb|Front view of a Tibetan fox skull
Among the true foxes, its skull is the most specialised in the direction of carnivory; 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.
Distribution and habitat
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.
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.
Behaviour and ecology
The Tibetan fox primarily preys on plateau pikas, followed by rodents, marmots, woolly hares, rabbits, small ground birds and lizards. 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. 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. 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.