INDIAN FOX

 

 * INDIAN FOX * 

Local name          :Lonkadi

Physical measurements & Life cycle 

Length          : 80 cm 

Height          : 80 cm 

Weight          : 3-5 kg 

Maturity       :12 months 

Gestation     : 50 days 

Litter size     :4

Life span       :6 years 

Breeding       :winter 

* Look    

Brownish-grey coat,hairy tail with dark maroon-black tip and slender limbs.

* Food 

Omnivorous.preys on small birds, eggs,snakes,rats,white ant, fruis and shoots.

* Distribution   

Throughout Gujarat.

* Habitat 

Inhabits dry open forest areas, grasslands, ravines,countryside,wasteland etc.

*Behaviour  

It is usually seen in pairs. It is more crepuscular than nocturnal. lives in burrows with multiple openings and a central chamber.

* Signs of presence

Burrows and repeated barking-Like sharp yelp.

Indian fox prefers to inhabit open areas and therefore it  rarely occurs is dense forest. It is a pretty animal that prefers small mammals,reptiles and insects over birds. It should be considered to be a friend of farmers because rats and land crads constitute Its preferred food. It is very much attracted by flights of termites or white ants are common before the onset of the rains, It either gobbles up the insects as they emerge from the termite mounds or snap at them as they fly past. It is an mammal in its movement and if chased,It flees with awesome twisting and turnings.