Vulpes corsac the Corsac Fox

Vulpes corsac the Corsac Fox

                     Figure 1: Vulpes corsac (Corsac Fox).

The Corsac fox (Vulpes corsac) is a typical fox-like canid that inhabits dry steppes, semi deserts and deserts throughout Middle Asia (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan), Northern Afghanistan to Mongolia, North and North East China (Figure 2) (Macdonald, 2009; Macdonald & Sillero-Zubiri, 2004). This fox, like many others, lives in a burrow that is often taken over from another mammal, such as a badger (Nowak, 1999). V. corsac is an excellent climber, with exceptional senses of vision, hearing and smell (Nowak, 1999). This foxes ability to climb allows it to widen its diet to animals that live in trees, such as birds and arboreal reptiles. The Corsac foxes diet is also made up of small rodents, insects and plant material, this omnivorous diet allows the fox greater chance at survival by increasing the number of different types of food it is able to consume (Clark et al., 2009). Yet, due to this foxes habitat range, it has adapted to arid conditions and can forego food and water for extended periods (Clark et al., 2009), these adaptations have given the Corsac fox advantages in surviving in such harsh conditions.

V. corsac is reported to be nomadic and does not keep to a fixed home range (Ognev, 1962). The Corsac fox may migrate southwards when deep snow and ice make hunting difficult (Stroganov, 1969), allowing a greater chance of survival as it increases the likeliness of prey availability. A second reason for migrating southwards may be, though the cortex and medulla features of its fur allow it to endure cold, harsh winter conditions it is not adapted for walking on snow (Clark et al., 2009). This migration to the South when conditions become to harsh is a simple behavioural adaption that shows how this species of fox has evolved over time to give itself the best possible chance of survival within its environment niche, habitat and climatic conditions.