Diet and Foraging Behavior of Blanford's Foxes, Vulpes cana, in Israel

Abstract

Blanford's fox, Vulpes cana , was discovered in Israel in 1981, and has not been studied systematically in the wild. Herein we document diet and related aspects of its ecology at two study sites, 300 km apart. Feces ( n = 344) collected from known individual Blanford's foxes revealed that invertebrates and plant material were major foods. In Eilat Mountains Nature Reserve (by the Red Sea) 98.1% and in Ein Gedi (by the Dead Sea) 92.5% of all samples contained remains of invertebrates. Frequencies of occurrence of plant material in the feces ranged between 60–70%, and in Eilat Mountains Nature Reserve 50% of those samples contained seeds of the caperbush, Capparis cartilaginea . Remains of vertebrates averaged 12%. No differences in diet composition were detected between seasons or sexes within each location, but significant differences were found between the two locations. Diet did not differ significantly between neighboring pairs.