Colorful Night .. Framed by the glow of street lights along Kuwait city. Two Arabian red fox kits explore the night just outside their den.
Framed by the glow of street lights along Kuwait city. Two Arabian red fox kits explore the night just outside their den.
This was taken in Kuwait city, an area near to the shore called Doha, the colorful lights are street and cars lights and all those light were reflecting on the sea water.
The rim light/backlight is two small continuous light “hand flash lights”.
The mother catch something every night and dig a small hall and hide the food, some time its a fish sometime she come with a bird, sometime with left over food from people.
Once she dig and hide the food, i put those flash lights and wait for her and the cubs to come and dig the food back.
There was 5 kits with their mom
I did go to the foxes den for more than two months for maybe 4 days a week or so and stayed there for 3 to 5 hours just after sunset.
At first i was a bit far away, lets say 20 meters from where they usually play. I didn’t approach the den for two reasons, first the den was at sea level and there is no empty good place for me to photograph them. Secondly, with high tide the space gets really narrow to even stand there.
Description
The Arabian Red Fox is similar in colour to the common Red Fox. However, it is more adapted to desert life than its parent species and is a brownish pale red colour. The throat is black and abdomen white. The lower legs and ears are reddish, with a reddish-brown bushy tail, tipped in white. Its ears are much larger, and its body is much smaller than that of the Red Fox. It also has fur between its toes, to prevent burning of the feet on the hot desert sand.
Habits
This fox is a solitary animal with well defined home ranges. Its diet consists of rodents, birds, and fish as well as some desert vegetation or even carrion. They are most active at night. Their average weight is 2.7kg – 4.5kg.
Range and Habitat
The Arabian Red Fox is found throughout the UAE and can adapt to all habitats, from desert to mountains, as well as the urban environment. However, it does not seem to penetrate areas such as the Liwa Desert with soft sand and high dunes.
Breeding
The vixen (female fox) can have up to five cubs usually in the spring in a den dug into the sand under a bush. She will then suckle the cubs for up to two months before they start to forage with her, later dispersing to establish their own territories.
Tracks and Signs
Pawprints show distinctive claw marks and are dog-track like in shape.
Arabian Red Fox Interesting Facts
What type of animal is an Arabian red fox?
The Arabian red fox (Vulpes vulpes arabica) is a subspecies of the red fox that is native to the Arabian Peninsula, particularly the Hajar and Dhofar Mountains in Oman. Due to its living environment, this fox has fur between its toes to prevent the burning of their feet from desert sands!
What class of animal does an Arabian red fox belong to?
This fox, the Arabian red fox, belongs to the Mammalia class of animals.
How many Arabian red foxes are there in the world?
The exact population of the Arabian fox is unknown. The Arabian fox is in abundance and so has not been of concern for its protection and the Arabian foxes live in various environments, including mountains, coasts, deserts, and also cities.
Where do Arabian red foxes live?
The Arabian fox is similar in color to the common red fox, although it has adapted much more to desert life than its parent species. Some unique adaptions include its ears being much larger, and its body is much smaller than the latter, although the red fox is similar in other respects. They are solely native to the Northern Hemisphere, inclusive of the North American countries, Europe, regions of Asia, and North Africa.
What is an Arabian red fox’s preferred habitat?
The Arabian red fox, Vulpes vulpes arabica, is a native subspecies of the common red fox, with a similar color to the common red fox, albeit paler. This species of the Arabian red fox (Vulpes vulpes arabica) live in various environments, including mountains, coasts, deserts, and also cities.
Who does the Arabian red fox live with?
These Arabian foxes live a fairly solitary life but also sometimes form a loosely knit social group, including only a few individuals. They are brownish pale red in color, similar to the common red fox’s defined home ranges, its diet is similar.
How long does an Arabian fox live?
The Arabian red fox (Vulpes vulpes arabica) is a species of fox that lives in various environments, including mountains, coasts, deserts, and also some cities. Their life span is about two to four years in the wild and 10-12 years in captivity. They have adapted to eat desert vegetation or even decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh.
How do they reproduce?
The Arabian red fox’s mating techniques span the complete spectrum from displays of monogamy to absolute polyamory. Some foxes are bonded with only one mate, but at the same time, others breed with numerous mates. However, regardless of what number of mates she has, the female has a tendency to shape a bond with only one mate.
The females give birth to about five pups, and the small foxes open their eyes about 10 days from birth. These subspecies of the red fox are similar in color to the common red fox, and due to their resilient adaptability, red foxes live in various kinds of environments. The babies of the Arabian fox are similar in color to the adults of the class, order, family, genus species of Vulpes Vulpes arabica. However, they are reddish because of the parent species, and the fox also has fur 10 days from birth.
What is their conservation status?
The Arabian red fox is more adapted to the desert life than its parent species, with both its ears being much larger and its body much smaller than that of the red fox. As per the IUCN Red List, its conservation status is categorized as of Least Concern.
This Photograph won multiple awards
1st place in the baby animals category of National Wildlife Federation magazine’s 2018 photo contest
First Prize in a Night Photography category in Xposure International Photography Competition in 2019
HIGHLY COMMENDED in CREATIVE PHOTO category in Memorial María Luisa 29 edition contest in 2019
Highly commended In Nature Photographer of The Year contest in 2019
First place in Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) Photo Contest, which was themed ‘SILHOUETTE’