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The Bengal fox (''Vulpes bengalensis''), also known as the Indian fox, is a fox
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...
from the
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
n foothills and
Terai , image =Terai nepal.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm , global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...
of
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
through southern
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, and from southern and eastern
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
to eastern
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
and southeastern
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
.


Appearance

''Vulpes bengalensis'' is a relatively small fox with an elongated muzzle, long, pointed ears, and a long, bushy tail. The pelage ranges in color from buff to silver-gray with an overall grizzled effect; the dorsal pelage is mostly grayish and paler ventrally. The legs tend to be brownish or rufous, and the underparts light, a pale sand or ginger shade. The Bengal fox is more daintily built than the red fox (''V. vulpes''), and can readily be recognized by its bushy, black-tipped tail, which is around 50–60% of the length of the head and body. The backs of the ears are dark brown with a black margin, and white inside. The ears have the same colour as the nape or maybe darker, but not having a dark patch as in ''V. vulpes''. Its rhinarium is naked and the lips are black. The muzzle is pointy, and there may be a dark smudged marking along the upper part of muzzle in front of eyes. Extensive variation in coat colour exists across populations and seasonally within populations, but generally varies from grey to pale brown. The head and body length is , with a long tail. Typical weight is . The genus ''Vulpes'' can be separated from ''Canis'' and ''Cuon'' in the Indian region by the flat forehead between the postorbital processes and not inflated by air cells. The processes themselves are slightly concave with a raised anterior edge (convexly round in other canids). The canine teeth are longer.


Distribution and habitat

The Bengal Fox is endemic to the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...
, ranging from the
Himalayan foothills The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
and
Terai , image =Terai nepal.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm , global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...
of
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
through the South portion of the Indian Peninsula (but the western and east Ghats are not included) and from southern and eastern
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
to eastern India and southeastern
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
. In Nepal and northeast India, it occurs up to 1,500 meters long. It was not reported from
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
or
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
or from the Western Ghats, India. Its range is bounded by the
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
s and the
Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmi ...
valley. It favors semiarid, flat to undulating land, bush and short grassland habitats. It avoids dense forests, steep terrain, tall grasslands and true deserts. It is relatively widespread in low rainfall areas where the vegetation is usually scrub, thorn or dry deciduous forests, or short grasslands. In the Indian peninsula, the species is confined to plains and open scrub forests. It was considered to be a habitat generalist, but it shows a strong preference for semiarid, short grassland habitats at multiple scales.


Behaviour and ecology

Bengal foxes are predominantly crepuscular and
nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
; while individuals may sometimes become active during cool periods of daytime, they typically spend warmer daylight hours under vegetation or in subterranean dens. They use three distinct types of den: basic, compact dens with two openings used for short rest periods, complex dens with multiple openings, and dens under rocks or rock crevices. The basic social unit of the Bengal Fox is the breeding pair, formed by a pair of bonds that can last for many years. Larger aggregations may occur while grown pups linger longer than average in the natal community. Other findings indicate that Bengal foxes can sometimes be more social. Female Bengal foxes were reported to share dens during lactation and four adult foxes were seen emerging from the same den. Bengal foxes are not especially suspicious of humans and can be found near human habitation. They are easy to tame.


Diet

Bengal foxes are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders, feeding primarily on
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pa ...
s, small
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...
s,
reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalia ...
s, small
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s, and fruits. Their diet consists mainly of orthopterans,
termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blat ...
s, ants,
beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s,
spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s,
soft-furred rat The soft-furred rat (''Millardia meltada''), or soft-furred metad, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many sp ...
(''Millardia meltada''), little Indian field mouse (''Mus booduga''), Indian gerbil (''Tatera indica''), Indian mynah (''Acridotheres tristis''), grey partridge (''Francolinus ponticerianus'') and ashy-crowned finch lark (''Eremopterix griseus''). Less common prey items include ground lizards, oriental rat snake ('' Ptyas mucosa''), Madras hedgehog (''
Paraechinus nudiventris The bare-bellied hedgehog (''Paraechinus nudiventris''), also known as the Madras hedgehog, is a species of hedgehog that is endemic to dry arid regions and scrubby jungles in southeastern India. As it was believed to be rare, it was formerly ...
'') and Indian hare (''Lepus nigricollis''). They feed on fruits of ber ('' Ziziphus mauritiana''), neem (''
Azadirachta indica ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Af ...
''), mango ('' Mangifera indica''), jambu (''
Syzygium cumini ''Syzygium cumini'', commonly known as Malabar plum, Java plum, black plum, jamun, jaman, jambul, or jambolan, is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value. It i ...
'') and banyan ('' Ficus benghalensis''). The Bengal fox is also considered to be a predator of eggs and possibly
bustard Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (, formerly known as Otidae). Bust ...
chicks. Scats of young pups indicated that they primarily feed rodents.


Communication

Bengal foxes make a wide range of vocalizations. A common vocalization is a "chattering cry" that seems to have a significant role in establishing territoriality and may also be used as a warning call. They also growl, whimper, whine and make a sound which could be called a growl-bark. In reaction to humans, yapping or baying has also been observed. The Bengal fox does not appear to have latrine behaviour, a feature seen in some social canids, in which all members defecate at specific spots. They can be heard howling in the night in groups.


Reproduction

Bengal foxes are thought to form long-term monogamous pairs, but this supposition is based on scarce evidence and extra-pair copulations are known to occur. During the breeding season, males vocalize intensely during the night and at dusk and dawn. Throughout most of its range, the mating season occurs in December to January and after a
gestation period In mammals, pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. It begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female's uterus, and ends once ...
of around 50–53 days, two to four pups are born in a den. Both parents participate in pup-rearing and protection. Aggregations of grown foxes at den sites have been recorded when the dispersal has been delayed, although the presence of helpers has not been observed. Pups may sometimes be nursed by multiple females, but the relationship between them is uncertain. During the day, they tend to rest under shrubs and bushes, except in summer when they rest in dens. Play between pups is typical during the first 3 months and consists of vertical jumps, back arching, foreleg stabs, submissive displays, and play solicitation; the adult male sometimes plays with the young. In northwestern India, young people are scattered during the monsoon season, when the opportunities are plentiful. The pups are fully weaned about 3–4 months after emerging from the den. Pup mortality is high during the first few months.


Threats

While the Bengal fox is common, it usually occurs at low densities across its range, and populations may experience significant fluctuations due to prey abundance and disease ( canine distemper virus and
rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, ...
, which have been confirmed to cause local population declines in western India). Any human disruptions can be tolerated, but with the increase of human populations and the increased growth of grasslands for agricultural and industrial use, the habitat of the Bengal fox is continually being reduced. The combination of the above causes, combined with disease and/or natural mortality, could potentially cause localized extirpation. Lack of habitat protection is perhaps the greatest threat to the Bengal fox. For example, in southern India, less than 2% of potential Indian fox habitat is covered under the existing protected area network of the states of
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
and
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
.
Hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
for its skin and flesh, as well as conversion of its grassland habitat to agriculture, industry, and increasingly bio-fuel plantations, have affected its population density. In addition, its body parts are used in
traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
, and in some areas it is eaten. They are hunted by the ''narikuruva'' tribes of southern India. In Karnataka, they are captured in rituals conducted during
Sankranthi Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...
. The populations of India are listed in the CITES Appendix III. The Indian Wildlife Conservation Act (1972 as amended to 2005) forbids the hunting of all wildlife and lists the Indian Fox in Schedule II. It does not apply to any particular category in the wildlife protection legislation of Nepal. It is listed as
Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. ...
in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.


References


External links


IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group: Bengal Fox

BBC – Science & Nature – Wildfacts – Indian fox, Bengal fox

Status of Indian Fox
{{Taxonbar, from=Q214835 Bengal fox Mammals of South Asia Mammals of Bangladesh Bengal fox Taxa named by George Shaw Fauna of the Thar Desert