Who is this mysterious Tibetan fox?

As the name suggests, this is the kind of fox that inhabits Tibet and the surrounding mountainous areas. This is one of the smallest mammals of the same name, leading a secretive way of life. In addition, Tibetan foxes are predatory animals. Examples of the life activity of these creatures we will consider in this article.

How do they look?

The Tibetan fox (pictured in the article) belongs to small foxes. Its small body is completely covered with thick wool, and from the bottom there is a dense underarm that protects the animal from strong winds. The muzzle in Tibetan foxes differs from the muzzles of their relatives: it is more pointed and stretched forward. Thick fur, centered around the neck, makes the fox's face a little square. Her ears are small, but sharp, and her eyes are narrow.

The teeth of these animals are well developed, and the fangs are extremely long and large, much larger than the other foxes. Color of fur varies from greyish-red to beige. The tail ends in a light tassel. Often on the sides of these animals rusty-brown color can be replaced to the bottom gray. This, in turn, creates some illusion of the strip on the sides of the fox body. The length of the body of an adult varies from 58 to 72 centimeters. At the same time, its tail is from 30 to 46 centimeters. The adult Tibetan fox weighs up to 5.5 kilograms.

Where do they live?

As the name of these animals suggests, they are found mainly in Tibet, namely - in semi-deserts and steppes of the Tibetan plateau. However, these mammals can be found in the north-west of India, and in some Chinese provinces, and in Nepal. Scientists who observed Tibetan foxes in 2008 report that these animals were discovered at altitudes of more than 5 kilometers above sea level. This, of course, somewhat surprised scientists, because it is known that it is almost impossible to meet these predators in places where their favorite food is missing. A favorite meal of Tibetan foxes are pikas.

What do they eat?

As already noted above, the main diet of these foxes - pikas, or senovets - are representatives of a detachment of rabbits. Only, in contrast to hares, pikas have very short ears, and the hind legs and fore legs have almost the same length. Outwardly these creatures are similar to hamsters and mice, but their relatives are not rodents, but hares. For their habit of storing hay for the winter, these creatures were nicknamed senovets. It should be noted that pisces feed not only Tibetan foxes, but other predatory animals (examples of other predators within the framework of this article are not considered).

Also in the diet of Tibetan foxes are various small rodents (voles, squirrels, chipmunks, mice), hares and small birds nesting on the ground. They do not disdain tasty bird eggs. It is worth noting that the predator will never give up any other creatures (lizards, insects) and immediately use it for food. So from this point of view, the Tibetan fox is an omnivore. But in the conditions of food variety pikas are the limit of dreams of these predators.

Their way of life

Typical habitats of these animals are natural burrows under rocks or in any other secluded places. If difficulties arise with the search for shelter, the fox digs out a lair on its own. The Tibetan fox has a secretive way of life, so zoologists know little about its life. But they did install something. For example, zoologists know that these creatures hunt in pairs (female and male), after which they divide all the prey caught in half. In addition, the Tibetan foxes - happy owners of a rather delicate hearing, which allows them even at relatively large distances to discover their favorite food.

The sense of smell is used by these animals solely to orientate themselves well in their territory. It is also known that the Tibetan fox does not protect its personal space from other relatives. That is why the territoriality of these animals is poorly expressed. Once scientists found a whole "harem" of these predators in general: Tibetan foxes not only lived side by side with each other, but even hunted on common lands. Curiously, up until 2006, no one shot them on the video camera. The reason is the natural hyperoperability of these animals. For the first time they were filmed by the operators of the world-famous British Broadcasting Corporation BBC.

Their importance in nature

The benefit that this fox brings to man and nature is difficult to overestimate. Since this predator is a wild animal, the fox plays a huge role in regulating the number of small rodents and other small vertebrates. Zoologists and agronomists do not rule out the possibility that Tibetan foxes bring significant benefits to soils, as they wind their way in the process of digging their shelters. But that's not all! Fur of these foxes is actively used by the inhabitants of various regions of Tibet: caps are made of it, which reliably protect against rain and winds.