April 2026 • Nebraskaland 23
ABOVE: A young swift fox looks to its mother while growing up in Kimball County.
LEFT: Although the swift fox measures only 12 inches tall at the shoulders,
it stands tall on the shortgrass prairies.
The swift fox prefers shortgrass prairies as areas it can
see its surroundings and scan for danger. Unlike other canid
species, it uses the cover of burrows year-round and not just
during mating season. They are capable of digging dens but
often take up residence in the vacant holes of badgers and
prairie dogs, the latter of which is one of their favorite prey.
Swift foxes form monogamous pairs in the fall, and those
relationships often last until death do them part. A female
swift fox gives birth to two to six pups in spring, which
both parents help raise until the young disperse in the fall.
They are not considered to be territorial, and family ranges
often overlap.
As the parents are teaching them to hunt and avoid
predators, the family may live in several different burrows
and often move because of flea infestations. A swift fox may
travel 4 to 9 miles each night in search of food.
Long ago, the swift fox's range extended from Alberta
to Texas and from Iowa to New Mexico and Montana. The
decline in shortgrass prairie has not been kind to the
population, however. It now lives on less than 44 percent of
its original range.
Eradication efforts on prey, such as the prairie dog, and
even other predators, also have put the swift fox in peril.
Even though coyotes prey upon swift foxes, efforts to poison
and trap that species have been linked to the unintentional
killing of many of their smaller relatives.
