Tibetan Fox

Facts and Picture of the Beautiful Tibetan Fox

This colorful animal is also called a Sand Fox.

Facts about Foxes...

What do they look like?

• This animal is a rather small type of fox and is easily recognizable with their distinct square and broad head and small triangular ears set low on the head.

• Their eyes are spaced far apart and set high on their foreheads. Their long, square muzzle is very broad in profile but narrow in width.

• They have a very tiny black nose.

• They are a rusty yellow color with gray sides and white on the face and underbelly.

• They have acute hearing.

• Their teeth are well-developed, especially the canines, which are longer than in most other foxes.

• They have dense fur to protect them from high winds and snow.

Where do they live?

• They live up on the plateau of Tibet and in the hills of Nepal and India, in altitudes up to 5300 m.

• They live in pairs which hunt together.

• Mating season is for a couple of months at the end of winter and after a gestation period of 50-60 days, 2-5 kits or cubs are born in a den.

• The young stay with the parents until they are 8-10 months old then they go off into the great big world.

What do they eat?

• They eat mostly rodents.

• About 95% of their diet consists of the pika, a small black lipped relative of the rabbit that lives on the Tibetan Plateau.

• Other prey items are insects, birds, hare, lizards, and marmot.

• They will also feed on carrion (yuck!) and plants and fruits.