Blanford’s Fox

Also known as the Afghan Fox, Blanford’s Foxes are mainly found in the middle east. In actual fact, not too much is know about Blanford’s fox, but it tends to live in areas with little or no vegetation, having a light coloured coat that helps it blend into it’s arid and rocky surroundings.

There was a time when the Blanford’s Fox was considered seriously in danger of extinction, however it has since been downgraded on the ICUN Red List to be of relatively low risk of extinction.

The Latin name for the Blanford’s fox is Vulpes Cana and it gets it’s name from the English naturalist William Thomas Blanford, who spent a lot of time in the middle east and the fox was named in honour of him upon it’s discovery in 1877.

Blanford’s foxes have a cream coloured fur with black flecks, a black tail tip and black fur running alongside the nose. It also has very large pointed ears which would suggest it has excellent hearing. The foxes have a long bushy tail which is a similar length to their body and probably helps the Blanford’s fox to balance when it is negotiating large rocks and steep slopes in it’s mountainous habitat. The Blandford’s Fox has often been compared to more of a wild cat in appearance rather than to it’s canine origins.

The foxes stick to one partner throughout their lives but they hunt individually. As with the Red Fox, the mating season is normally around January, but pup litters are smaller at around 1-3 pups. The pups are fed on milk in their hidden dens until about the age of 2 months. After around 4 months, the Blanford’s fox will start to hunt alone.

Although humans are less of a threat to Blanford foxes, than to other types of foxes, they can be preyed upon by red foxes, wild cats and golden eagles. Because of the rough terrain they inhabit, the Blanford’s fox is usually unable to tunnel underground, instead resorting to gaps in rocks and naturally occurring caves, thus making them more vulnerable to predators.