San Joaquin kit fox

The endangered San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) was formerly very common in the San Joaquin Valley and through much of Central California. Its 1990 population was estimated to be 7,000. This subspecies is still endangered, after nearly 50 years of being on the Endangered Species List. Officially this subspecies was listed March 3, 1967.[1] On September 26, 2007, Wildlands Inc. announced the designation of the 684-acre (2.77 km2) Deadman Creek Conservation Bank, which is intended specifically to protect habitat of the San Joaquin kit fox.[2] However, the population continues to decline mostly due to heavy habitat loss. Other factors include competition from red fox, and the extermination of the gray wolf from California has left the coyote as the dominant meso-predator in kit fox territory bringing an imbalance in ecosystem relationships. Sarcoptic mange has also constituted a significant threat, specifically to the Bakersfield population of the subspecies, with 15 confirmed cases reported by the end of 2014.[3]

San Joaquin kit fox
Male San Joaquin kit fox
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Vulpes
Species:
V. macrotis
Subspecies:
V. m. mutica
Trinomial name
Vulpes macrotis mutica
Merriam, 1902
  • V. m. mutica male
    V. m. mutica male
  • V. m. mutica sitting
    V. m. mutica sitting
  • V. m. mutica resting
    V. m. mutica resting
  • A San Joaquin kit fox family
    A San Joaquin kit fox family
  • Two San Joaquin kit foxes
    Two San Joaquin kit foxes
  • V. m. mutica at Carrizo Plains National Monument
    V. m. mutica at Carrizo Plains National Monument

References
  1. "Species Profile for San Joaquin Kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica)". ecos.fws.gov. Archived from the original on 2011-10-15.
  2. Kit fox Gets Some Protection, In California, Environmental News Network, September 27, 2007
  3. Brian L. Cypher; Jaime L. Rudd; Tory L. Westall; Leslie W. Woods; Nicole Stephenson; Janet E. Foley; Donald Richardson; Deana L. Clifford (2017-01-01). "Sarcoptic Mange in Endangered Kit Foxes (Vulpes Macrotis Mutica): Case Histories, Diagnoses, and Implications for Conservation". Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 53 (1): 46–53. doi:10.7589/2016-05-098. PMID 27669012. S2CID 24716194.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.