Swift Fox: Background and Recovery

The swift fox is the smallest canid (dog) in North America; adult swift foxes weigh less than 6 pounds.  Closely related to the kit fox, swift foxes were once abundant across the Great Plains. They received the name “swift” because of their speed.

Swift foxes are dark grayish tan in color with a black-tipped tail.  They are nocturnal and spend more time underground in their burrows than any other canid.  They often live in or near prairie dog towns where they hunt for prairie dogs, small rodents and insects. 

Once numerous across the Great Plains, swift foxes were trapped for their fur and inadvertently killed by poison intended for coyotes and wolves.  As part of federal eradication campaigns, poisoning also reduced swift fox food sources, such as prairie dogs and ground squirrels.  Swift foxes reached very low numbers by the mid-1900s and disappeared entirely from the northern portion of their range. 

Today swift foxes are making a comeback.  Their numbers in the southern Great Plains – from which they were never completely eradicated – are increasing.  And thanks to recent reintroduction efforts in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana and South Dakota, they are repopulating portions of the northern Great Plains from which they were eradicated.

Defenders of Wildlife has assisted with swift fox reintroductions at Blackfeet and Fort Peck Reservations in Montana and at Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota.  A new reintroduction effort is also being planned for 2008 at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Learn more about the Swift Fox in the Wildlife Fact Sheet
Swift Fox Recovery Poster

Historic range map: Source: USFWS