San Joaquin Kit Fox

1. San Joaquin Kit Fox Meredith Balkus Tania Ochoa March 20th, 2009 Environmental Science, Block 4 Mr. Fitzgerald

2. General information: • Scientific name: Vulpes macrotis mutica • Geographic location: (California); San Joaquin Valley, Alameda, Kern County, Contra Costa. • Habitat: grasslands, scrublands • Food source: rodents such as black-tailed hares, desert cottontails, mice, kangaroo rats, squirrels, birds, lizards, etc. • Mating habits: • Mating season: December – March • Gestation: 48 – 52 days • Litter size: 3 – 5 pups • Care: Parents will care for pups until 4 – 5 months of age and capable of finding their own food. • Physical Characteristics: • 12 x 20 inches; (about the size of a house cat) • Big ears • Long, furry tail • Tan/yellow/grey-ish fur • Male: about 5 lbs

3. Why is it endangered? • Geographic changes: • Development/industrial growth: expansion of houses and roads • Incongruent variations in environment – both grasslands and farms • General changes in the Central Valley • * The combination of such factors have made it difficult for the kit fox to find food and mates, death, illness, injury, etc. • Predation: • Preyed upon by coyotes and red foxes • Chemical usage: • Poisons used to kill rats, mice, etc. • Natural Causes: • Predation, starvation, flooding, drought. • Human-induced mortality: • Shooting, trapping, poisoning, electrocution, road kills, suffocation, etc.

4. What’s being done to help: • The U.S. Department of the Interior placed the kit fox on the endangered species list in 1967 • The state of California placed the kit fox on the state’s endangered species list in 1971 • The Endangered Species Act requires U.S. federal government to care for/protect/determine and provide the habitat the species needs to survive for any species placed on the list. • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has standardized recommendations for protecting the kit fox during industrialization • Rules/guidelines to consider when industrializing in/nearby the fox’s habitat. • Speed limits of construction vehicles (20 mph at all times) • All construction objects prone to kit fox inhabitation need to be covered during night hours when kit foxes are most active. • Pipes, culverts, and other objects that resemble a kit fox den must be thoroughly inspected before being buried/used/capped/etc. • All trash must be disposed of and removed at the end of 1 week. • No firearms are allowed on the construction site. • No pets on project site (to prevent harassment of kit foxes). • Restriction of harmful chemicals. • Moderately helpful • Although these restrictions HAVE decreased the decreasing kit fox population, the industrial growth has not ceased, leading to further depletion.

5. Our plan: • Increase public knowledge of the issue • Boycott the use of rodentcides and herbicides in habitats where the kit fox resides • “Adopt a kit fox “ • ... by donating to this website.

6. Additional Photos:

7. Bibliography • http://www.conservationinstitute.org/pcn/pcn_kit_fox.htm • http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/san_joaquin_kit_fox.php • http://esrp.csustan.edu/speciesprofiles/profile.php?sp=vuma