Observations of Kit Foxes in Southeastern Oregon

Abstract

The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) or V. velox macrotis (Dragoo et al. 1990) is found in desert and shrub steppe ecosystems throughout much of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico (Samuel and Nelson 1982). The species reaches the northern extent of its range in southeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho. Vulpes v. macrotis is restricted to southeastern Harney and southern Malheur counties in Oregon (Benedict and Forbes 1979; Verts and Carraway 1984; Marshall 1988), with the exception of one isolated record from southern Klamath County (Laughlin and Cooper 1973). Early European settlers considered V. v. macrotis to be rare in Oregon (Marshall 1988). However, numbers apparently were reduced further from the 1940's throughout the 1970's with widespread use of poisons for coyote (Canis latrans) control (Olterman and Verts 1972; Kindschy 1983). Concern for the status of V. v. macrotis prompted the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to list it as a threatened species in the state in 1975 (Durbin 1975). The few observations that have been reported in the last decade have been unconfirmed sightings by the public, with the exception of a highly visible family of 6-8 foxes that denned alongside U.S. Highway 95 near Burns Junction until 1985 (M. Eckstein, Burns Junction, Oregon, pers. comm.). The status of V. v. macrotis in Oregon in the past few years is uncertain. There has been speculation that few or no individuals remain in the state (Marshall 1988). Despite continued concern for V. v. macrotis in Oregon, no data beyond incidental sightings have been collected. My objectives were to determine if this species still occurred in Oregon and, if so, to document locations. This information was required by ODFW to justify continued listing of V. v. macrotis as a threatened species, and it was a first step toward evaluating potential recovery or management needs of the species.