 |
Savannah Fox |
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He is a wild animal |
Origin |
South America | |
Translation |
Francis Vandersteen | |
This breed is also known as |
Crab Fox
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| The possession of this animal is not authorized Royal Decree establishing the list of mammals not kept for production purposes that may be kept (M.B. 24.08.2009) |
| The Savannah Fox (Cerdocyon thous), also known as Crab Fox, Wood Dog or Little Wolf, is the only living species of the Cerdocyon genus. It lives in South America (Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay). The crab fox reaches 92 cm from head to tail and weighs around 6.5 kg. It has a gestation period of 56 days and reaches sexual maturity at around 1 year. Lifespan is 11 1/2 years. It occupies most habitats, including swamps, savannah, cerrado, caatinga, chaco-cerrado-caatinga transition habitat, scrubland, woodland, semi-deciduous dry forest, gallery forest, Atlantic forest, mixed rainforest, isolated savannah within lowland Amazonian forest, and montane forest. It has been seen at altitudes of up to 3,000 m. It adapts well to deforestation, agricultural and horticultural development (sugar cane, eucalyptus, melon, pineapple, etc.), and regenerating habitats. In the arid chaco regions of Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina, it is confined to forest edges, where more open spaces are occupied by the Aszara or pampas fox. Vegetated habitats are generally used in proportion to abundance, varying with social status and climatic season. In seasonally flooded savannas, lowland savannas are avoided, giving preference to wooded savannah areas, particularly by mature adult individuals and especially in the wet season. Similarly, in the central llanos of Venezuela, it migrates to higher ground in response to seasonal flooding, although it generally stays in open palm savannah (for around 2/3 of the population) and covered habitats. In Minas Gerais (Brazil), they show a preference for land between domestic animal pastures and gallery forest ("vereidas"), and can also be seen in eucalyptus plantations and other agricultural land. In addition to heavy metal pollution, the main known threat is pathogenic infection from domestic dogs. On the edge of the Serra da Canastra National Park in Brazil, for example, crab foxes are foraging on piles of human detritus in the company of unvaccinated domestic dogs. The species has no direct commercial value as a fur bearer, as the fur is short and rough. However, furs are sometimes sold under the false name of gray fox in Argentina, and under the false name of pampas fox (Aszara fox) in Uruguay. Illegal commercial sales are low, probably as a result of low fur prices, and in Paraguay no illegal furs were confiscated between 1995 and 2000. |
English (United Kingdom)