The Cape Fox (or Silver Fox as it’s sometimes known) is an endearing member of the dog family, restricted largely to the drier areas of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.
It is generally associated with open country – grasslands, scattered thickets, coastal or semi-desert scrub – bordering areas of fynbos and open woodland. On farms, these small carnivores spend their days in pockets of natural vegetation, then venture into fields at night to forage.
Cape foxes are usually common throughout their range, which is thought to have expanded south-westwards and eastward in South Africa. This can be attributed to desertification, as well as changing agricultural practices that actually seem to benefit the species.
These foxes live and breed together as pairs, though surprisingly little is known about their social life. They tend to hunt alone, except when they seem to gather at abundant food sources. When foraging, foxes don’t wander too far from the den area and have been found to range over areas measuring just a few square kilometres. The home ranges of pairs overlap, but are probably only defended around the denning site. Proficient diggers, Cape Foxes will excavate their own dens in the sandy soils where they live, but they are just as happy to make use of abandoned springhare or aardvark burrows.
Cape Foxes are generally nocturnal and rarely seen during the day. Omnivores, they definitely prefer rodents, beetles are eaten too, while scorpions, spiders, grasshoppers and lizards, as well as wild fruits and berries add variety. In addition to springhares and birds (including coursers and lapwings), Cape Foxes catch hares, their largest natural quarry. These small predators often listen for noises made by their prey underground and, when they locate something, will dig it out feverishly with their front paws.
After a 52-day gestation, a litter of one to six (generally three) pups is born underground. Birth takes place at any time between spring and midsummer -the timing varies considerably from one area to another. Up to eight pups have been recorded at a den, but this has been ascribed to two aduit pairs with pups sharing the same site. After weaning, both parents fetch food for their pups, with the mother contributing more than her fair share to this chore. This is often the best time to see Cape Foxes – the early mornings, when parents return to their voracious offspring with food or the youngsters come above ground to sun themselves and play, can be especially rewarding.
Sub-adults can also be found at the dens, although accounts differ as to whether they help or hinder the rearing of the litter (certainly there are records of them stealing meals from returning parents, leaving the pups hungry). As in jackal society, these sub-adults could be the young of previous litters that have not dispersed, perhaps due to a lack of vacant territories nearby. By the age of 16 weeks, the young will be independent, but generally only leave the burrow when they are about five months old.
In farming areas, Cape Foxes are often caught as ‘by-catch’ alongside more problematic animals such as black-backed jackals, African wild cats and caracals. Ironically though, fox numbers may actually increase as a result of predator control measures – competition for food could be reduced or there may be less risk of failing prey to rival predators. There is limited evidence to suggest the foxes are stock thieves, given that mice and rats are their food of choice. Occasionally young lambs and goats (most only a few days old) are caught, and the foxes do scavenge carrion, but the extent to which they predate older stock is certainly exaggerated.
Cape Foxes themselves are sometimes preyed upon by black-backed jackals and leopards, though it’s thought their nocturnal foraging may help them to avoid the clutches of large raptors such as martial eagles. In Botswana, their pelts are used to make traditional blankets or karosses, particularly by the Tswana Community. Although there is no record of the number of foxes killed for this purpose, it is unlikely to represent a conservation threat. In addition, demand has dropped greatly with the increased availability of mass-manufactured blankets.
Text and Photos by Tim Jackson. Taken from the August 2009 edition of Africa Geographic.
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