The Vulpes Corsac, or the Corsac Fox, are common to countries such as south eastern Russia, Mongolia and Afghanistan and can thrive in all sorts of conditions, including deserts. They are wanderers, not being particularly tied to one place and have been known to cover fairly vast distances.

Much more meat eating than other foxes, the Corsac Fox can survive for long periods without water but they will eat insects and plants if needs be. In order to blend in with it’s surroundings, the Corsac Fox has a very distinctive summer and winter coat. The summer coat tends to be a yellowy-grey fur, while in winter it becomes sandier and redder in colour and smoother and silkier to the touch. Their weight can vary between 1.5 – 3.5 kgs and it is guesstimated that their life expectancy is around 9 years.

The Corsac Fox likes to avoid snow (which is frequent in it’s habitats) and will often hide in shallow burrows they have dug themselves or in burrows created by other animals. They are also prepared to migrate to warmer climates in extreme conditions in search of food and reports suggest they like to follow herds of other migrating animals who will trample down the snow and create a pathway. It has been noted in history that particularly harsh winters can have a huge impact on the Corsac’s numbers, though the numbers of the fox have traditionally soon jumped back up again within a couple of generations.

Strong sense of smell and hearing, as well as good strong claws are characteristics of the Corsac Fox. The strong claws make it good at climbing big rocks and trees, however the Corsac is relatively slow for a fox, making it susceptible to being caught by bigger predators such as birds of prey.

Due to their bushy and silky fur, the Corsac Fox is also hunted by humans and over the years, the Corsac Fox pelts have come in and out of fashion, meaning that their numbers have gone up and down. At the moment however, Corsac fox fur is not particularly fashionable and, although not too much data is know about the Corsac fox population, they are not considered to be endangered.

Importantly, it is worth mentioning that Blanford’s foxes are sometimes know as Corsacs, however the two varieties of foxes are different and should not be confused.