22 Nebraskaland • April 2026
A
t 3 to 7 pounds, the swift fox (Vulpes
velox) is the smallest wild canine
spec ies in North America. It's
surely diminutive but stands tall as one
of the most charming mammals residing
in western Nebraska — a superb poster
species to represent wildlife diversity of the
often overlooked wide-open prairies of the
High Plains.
The swift fox is about the size of a housecat, half as big as
the much more common red fox. It also is distinguished from
the red fox with a black-tipped tail instead of white and its
proportionally bigger ears that help in listening for predators.
As the swift fox's name indicates, its agile feet are among
its best features for evading predators. Even though it's much
smaller than one of its nemeses, the coyote, its short legs can
run at about the same speed — up to 40 mph.
The swift fox is an opportunistic omnivore who typically
hunts at night, consuming a variety of rodents and other
small mammals, insects, grasses and carrion. Most daytime
sightings of swift foxes are when they're sunning themselves
at the entrance to their den with pups, sometimes called kits.
T H E S W I F T F OX PRE F E RS
S H O RTG RAS S PRAI RI E S AS ARE AS
I T C A N S E E I T S S U RRO U N D I N G S
A N D S C A N F O R DA N G E R.
