The swift fox (Vulpes velox) is a rare, house-cat-sized carnivore. Although once abundant in Canada, it was extirpated from Canada and northern Montana by the late 1930s. Since 1983, a...
Description
The swift fox (Vulpes velox) is a rare, house-cat-sized carnivore. Although once abundant in Canada, it was extirpated from Canada and northern Montana by the late 1930s. Since 1983, a reintroduction program has been underway to restore this species to Canada. Concurrent with the Canadian swift fox reintroduction program, evidence suggested that Canadian fox releases had also established a small swift fox population in north-central Montana. The focus of the 2000-2001 census was: to estimate changes in the distribution and abundance of swift foxes within Canada since the 1996-1997 census; and secondly, to estimate the distribution and abundance of swift foxes in adjacent areas of Montana. Application of the same population estimation technique utilized in 1996-1997 suggests that the Alberta/Saskatchewan border population consists of 560 individuals (compared to 192 previously), the Grasslands National Park area contains 96 individuals (compared to 87 previously), and the sampled...