View source for Cape fox

{{Short description|Species of carnivore}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Cape fox
| image = Vulpes chama (Etosha).jpg
| image_caption = Adult feeding on a [[helmeted guineafowl]] in [[Etosha National Park]]
| image2 = Kapfuchs-nachwuchs.jpg
| image2_caption = Cape fox kits
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Hoffmann, M. |date=2014 |title=''Vulpes chama'' |volume=2014 |article-number=e.T23060A46126992 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T23060A46126992.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Vulpes
| species = chama
| authority = ([[Andrew Smith (zoologist)|A Smith]], 1833)
| synonyms = 
*''caama'' (C. E. H. Smith, 1839)
*''hodsoni'' (Noack, 1910)
*''variegatoides'' (Layard, 1861)
| range_map = Cape Fox area.png
| range_map_caption = Cape fox range
}}

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.<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Wozencraft|id=14000868}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Red">{{Cite report |vauthors=Child MF, Roxburgh L, Do Linh San E, Raimondo D, Davies-Mostert HT |year=2016 |title=The red list of mammals of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho|publisher=South African National Biodiversity Institute and Endangered Wildlife Trust|location= South Africa}}</ref>

==Description==
''Vulpes chama'' is a small-built [[canid]], usually measuring {{cvt|45|to|62|cm|in|round=0.5}} long, not including its tail, which is typically {{cvt|30|to|40|cm|in|round=0.5}}. It is {{cvt|30|to|35|cm|in|round=0.5}} tall at the shoulder, and usually weighs from {{cvt|2.5|to|4.5|kg|lb}}.<ref name="Lavoie">{{Cite journal|issn=0076-3519 |issue=972 |pages=11–17| last1=Lavoie |first1=Maxime |last2=Renard |first2=Aurélie |last3=Pitt |first3=Justin A. |last4=Larivière |first4=Serge |title=Vulpes chama (Carnivora: Canidae) |journal=Mammalian Species|date=2019 |volume=51 |doi=10.1093/mspecies/sez002 |s2cid=198261483|doi-access=free }}</ref> The skull is very similar to that of ''[[Vulpes bengalensis|V.&nbsp;bengalensis]]'', although the cranium of ''V.&nbsp;chama'' is slightly wider and the maxillary region is slightly shorter.<ref name="Clutton-Brock"/>

[[File:Vulpes chama 01 MWNH 571.JPG|thumb|left|Skull of a cape fox]]
The ears are relatively large and sharp, the muzzle is small and pointed. Pelage colour is silvery-gray, tawny at the back of the ears, with white hairs appearing around the side of the [[Auricle (anatomy)|pinna]] in the center.<ref name="Lavoie"/> The colour of the neck and sides is lighter, and the underparts are pale tawny to pale buff.<ref name="Sheldon">{{cite book |last1=Sheldon |first1=Jennifer W. |title=Wild dogs: the natural history of the non-domestic Canidae |date=1992 |publisher=Academic Press |location=San Diego |isbn=978-1-4832-6369-4 |pages=168–171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a63SBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Clutton-Brock">{{cite journal |last1=Clutton-Brock |first1=Juliet |last2=Corbet |first2=Gordon B |last3=Hills |first3=Michael |title=A review of the family Canidae, with a classification by numerical methods |journal=Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) |date=1976 |volume=29 |pages=117–199 |doi=10.5962/bhl.part.6922 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2307344#page/180/mode/1up|doi-access=free }}</ref> 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,<ref name="Lavoie"/> and there's a dark spot over the caudal gland.<ref name="Sheldon"/>

Pelage is soft and composed of a thick wavy underfur of around {{cvt|25|mm|0}} in length. Underfur is covered with a dense layer of guard hair < {{cvt|40|mm}} in thickness. Molt occurs in the wet season from October to November.<ref name="Lavoie"/> ''V.&nbsp;chama'' presents little to no [[sexual dimorphism]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Kieser JA, Groeneveld HT |title=Comparative morphology of the mandibulodental complex in wild and domestic canids. |journal=Journal of Anatomy |date=June 1992 |volume=180 |issue=Pt 3 |pages=419–424 |pmid=1487435 |pmc=1259643}}</ref>

==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.<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /> In the central and western regions of southern Africa, the species is widespread, reaching around 15 ° N in south-western Angola.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Crawford-Cabral JC |year=1989 |journal=Garcia de Orta Serie de Zoologia |title=Distributional data and notes on Angolan carnivores (Mammalia: Carnivora) I. Small and median-sizes species |location=Lisbon|volume=14|issue=2|pages=3–27}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cape Fox|publisher=Siyabona Africa |url=http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_cape_fox.html |website=krugerpark.co.za|access-date=6 November 2020}}</ref>

==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 [[burrow]]s 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 [[Pedetes capensis|springhare]], to its specific requirements.<ref name="Red"/>

Cape foxes are mostly solitary, and although they form mated pairs, the males and females are often found foraging alone.<ref name="Nel"/> Occasionally, however, they can gather in loose groups to feed. Although ''V.&nbsp;chama'' shows signs of territoriality, such as [[scent marking]], home range overlap does occur.<ref name="Nel"/><ref name="Skinner">{{cite book |author1=Skinner, J. D.|author2=Chimimba, Christian T.|title=The mammals of the southern African subregion|location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1-107-34099-2 |year=2005}}</ref><ref name="Lavoie"/>

Although a normally silent fox, the Cape fox is known to communicate with soft calls, whines or chirps. However, it will utter a loud bark when alarmed. A long-range vocalization of yelps or yapping barks has been described, but Cape foxes apparently do not howl.<ref name="Sheldon"/> When in an aggressive mood, the Cape fox is known to growl and spit at its attacker.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} They may use other forms of communication, such as facial expressions and tail posturing;<ref name="Lavoie"/> to show its excitement, the fox lifts its tail, the height of the tail often indicating the measure of excitement.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

==Ecology==
===Diet===
Cape foxes are completely [[omnivorous]] and opportunists, feeding mainly on small mammals (such as [[rodent]]s) and [[insect]]s, but also commonly eating [[bird]]s, small [[reptile]]s, [[carrion]] and fruits.<ref name="Klare">{{cite journal |last1=Klare |first1=Unn |last2=Kamler |first2=Jan F. |last3=Macdonald |first3=David W. |title=Seasonal diet and numbers of prey consumed by Cape foxes Vulpes chama in South Africa |journal=Wildlife Biology |date=June 2014 |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=190–195 |doi=10.2981/wlb.00006|bibcode=2014WildB..20..190K |s2cid=86020958 |doi-access=free }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Sheldon"/> They may also consume larger mammals like [[steenbok]] (''Raphicerus campestris'') and other carnivores such as the yellow mongoose (''Cynictis penicillata'').<ref name="Lavoie"/>

While Cape foxes have been reported to kill livestock, the predation level is unknown.<ref name="Skinner"/><ref name="Klare"/> [[Domestic sheep]] (''Ovis aries'') may comprise as much as 16.6% volume of its stomach content, but it appears to prey only on very young lambs (less than 3 months old), otherwise they can only consume it as carrion.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kok |first1=O. B. |last2=Nel |first2=J. A. J. |title=Convergence and divergence in prey of sympatric canids and felids: opportunism or phylogenetic constraint?: DIETS OF SYMPATRIC CANIDS AND FELIDS |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |date=24 November 2004 |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=527–538 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.2004.00409.x|doi-access=free }}</ref> They are known to [[cache (biology)|cache]] food in holes.<ref name="adw"/>

===Parasites and predators===
The Cape fox can be hunted by [[lion]]s (''Panthera leo'') and its young may be killed by the [[honey badger]] (''Mellivora capensis''). It is also sometimes preyed upon by [[black-backed jackal]]s (''Canis mesomelas'') and other predators, such as [[African leopard]]s (''Panthera pardus''), [[caracal]]s (''Caracal caracal''), and birds of prey, such as hawks and owls.<ref name="Lavoie"/>

It usually carries ''[[Echinococcus granulosus]]'' as an endoparasite and may be parasitised by [[fleas]].<ref name="Lavoie"/>

==Reproduction==
[[File:Vulpes chama01.jpg|thumb|Cape foxes at the [[Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park]]]]
During the [[breeding season]], in southern hemisphere winter the months of July and August,<ref name="adw">{{Cite web |author=Rohde, K. |date=2003 |title=''Vulpes chama'' |publisher=Animal Diversity Web |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Vulpes_chama/ |access-date=6 November 2020}}</ref> [[monogamy in animals|monogamous]] pairs may occur, but the duration and persistence from year to year is not well known.<ref name="Lavoie"/><ref name="Skinner"/> Paired adults typically only have contact during the mating season,<ref name="Lavoie"/> but mouth sniffing or nuzzling ("greeting") occurs, as does body slamming.<ref name="Nel">{{cite journal |last1=Nel |first1=J.A.J |title=Behavioural ecology of canids in the South-Western Kalahari |journal=Koedoe |date=1 December 1984 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=229–235 |doi=10.4102/koedoe.v27i2.582|doi-access=free}}</ref>

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 {{cvt|50|to|100|g|oz}} at birth. Reared underground in burrows, the cubs stay close to the [[Maternity den|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.<ref name="Nel"/> Both parents care for the young, with the male also providing food to the female for at least 1–2 weeks postpartum. Cubs usually become independent at 5–11.5 months of age, when they disperse (typically in June or July). Juveniles may disperse {{cvt|7–22|km}} from natal den and females may remain in their natal range.<ref name="Lavoie"/> Some Cape fox subadults steal food brought to the kits at the den by the parents.<ref name="Nel"/><ref name="Sheldon"/>

A family group usually consists of the parents and their offspring, but different family groups sometimes mix during feeding. Multiple litters are possible and have been observed; however, the female usually chases out the cubs from the last litter when she is expecting another one. Cape foxes are fully grown within about a year, with both the female and the male reaching [[sexual maturity]] at 9 months. The Cape fox has a life expectancy of about six years, but can live for up to 10 years.<ref name="adw"/>

==Conservation==
Habitat loss does not appear to be a major factor influencing the conservation status of the Cape fox; in some regions, changing agricultural practices have resulted in range extensions for this species.<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /> As these foxes are presumed to prey on livestock, in particular lambs, they are commonly target by farmers. They are targeted by various control methods, such as leg-hold traps and the illegal but widespread use of agricultural poisons on commercial farms.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/photo-ark-cape-fox/ |title=Photo Ark: Cape Fox |website=National Geographic Society |language=en |date=27 November 2018 |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029020305/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/photo-ark-cape-fox/ }}</ref> 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.<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /> They also often succumb to diseases such as [[rabies]] and [[canine distemper]], and a large number of Cape foxes are killed on the road by vehicles. Many are hunted and persecuted as vermin. About 2,500 individuals are killed yearly; which is approximately 16% of the population.<ref name="adw"/> Nonetheless, populations of ''V.&nbsp;chama'' are currently stable across their entire geographic range thus it is not listed in the [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" />

==References==
{{Commons}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Carnivora|Ca.}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q272933}}

[[Category:Vulpes|Cape fox]]
[[Category:Mammals of Botswana]]
[[Category:Mammals of South Africa]]
[[Category:Mammals of Namibia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Angola]]
[[Category:Mammals of Southern Africa]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Africa]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1833|Cape fox]]