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31 January 2016 Spatial organization of the pale fox in the Termit Massif of east Niger
Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, Susana Rostro-García, Dylan Burruss
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Abstract

Pale foxes (Vulpes pallida) have a widespread distribution across the Saharan-Sahel in northern Africa, but little is known about their ecology and natural history. Here, we provide the 1st ecological information on the species. We captured and radio-collared 10 pale foxes in the Termit & Tin Toumma National Nature and Cultural Reserve of east Niger. The adult body mass (1.20 ± SD 0.18 kg, n = 6) was about half of what was previously reported, confirming this species as one of the smallest canids in the world. Body measurements were relatively similar between sexes, suggesting little if any sexual dimorphism. Mean ± SD home range size (n = 6) was 6.79 ± 3.58 km2 using 100% minimum convex polygon and 5.62 ± 3.11 km2 using 95% fixed kernel density estimator. Overlap between adjacent pale fox ranges was generally low (mean overlap index = 0.11 ± 0.22), with nearly exclusive core areas (mean overlap index = 0.02 ± 0.06), suggesting pale foxes are territorial. Overall, the spatial ecology of pale foxes showed similar characteristics to other Vulpes species, especially those inhabiting arid and semiarid environments.

© 2016 American Society of Mammalogists, www.mammalogy.org
Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, Susana Rostro-García, and Dylan Burruss "Spatial organization of the pale fox in the Termit Massif of east Niger," Journal of Mammalogy 97(2), 526-532, (31 January 2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv198
Received: 14 August 2015; Accepted: 22 November 2015; Published: 31 January 2016
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