Ecology of Desert Fox in a saline Grassland ecosystem of Banni in the Kutch district of Western India
1. Introduction:
Foxes belong to genus vulpes, the most widely distributed carnivores, found across the earth apart from Antarctica. Three species of foxes occurs in the different habitats of Indian sub-continent. Indian fox (Vulpes bengalensis) found throughout the Deccan peninsula, arid and semi-arid bio-geographic region of India, Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) found in Tibetan plateau of north India and the Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) distributed from hot desert of Rajasthan and Gujarat to cold desert of trans-Himalaya and temperate region of Kashmir. In India there are three sub-species of red fox found in different types of habitat, Kashmir …show more content…
The species is categorized in schedule I of Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972, provided highest security by law and order in India. Desert fox share its habitat with its sympatric species Indian fox (Vulpes benagalensis). It is easily distinguished from Indian fox by its white tail tip while Indian fox has black tail tip. It lives among sand dunes or in the broad sandy beds of Dry River and also in wasteland covered with scrub. It shelter in a burrow dug in the ground and where there is vegetation, among reeds and bushes (Prater, 1971). Pusilla appears to be the only fox actually found amongst the sand hills of desert (Pocock, 1941). Gerbils, spiny tailed lizard and other sand rats are their main prey items (Prater, …show more content…
Climate of Banni is arid and the temperature is of 48-49°C during May-June. The winter temperature goes down to 10°C with January and February being the coldest months. Total annual rainfall, occurs through south-east monsoon between June and September, which is very low with an average of 317 mm per year. The salinity of soil is very high variable from 1.0 to over 15.0 Mmhos/cm. In vegetation, Banni supports the growth of perennial and palatable grasses of high productivity, which grow in low to moderate saline areas. The grasses commonly found here include Sporobolus helvolus, Dichanthium annulatum, Cenchrus ciliaris, Cenchrus setigerus, and Desmostachya bipinata. High saline areas are colonized by perennial grasses of low productivity and palatability such as Aeluropus logpoides and Eurochondra sp. Among tree species, Acaia nilotica was once distributed all over the Banni landscape. The scrub and tree strata were mainly composed of Prosopis cineraria, Acacia nilotica, Acacia leucophloea, Salvedora persica, Salvedora oleodes and Capparis deciduas. Today the abundance of palatable grasses and tree species like Acacia and Salvadora spe have significantly decreased due to massive invasion and dominance of Prosopis juliflora. The fauna of Banni includes: the blue bull, chinkara,
1. Introduction:
Foxes belong to genus vulpes, the most widely distributed carnivores, found across the earth apart from Antarctica. Three species of foxes occurs in the different habitats of Indian sub-continent. Indian fox (Vulpes bengalensis) found throughout the Deccan peninsula, arid and semi-arid bio-geographic region of India, Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) found in Tibetan plateau of north India and the Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) distributed from hot desert of Rajasthan and Gujarat to cold desert of trans-Himalaya and temperate region of Kashmir. In India there are three sub-species of red fox found in different types of habitat, Kashmir …show more content…
The species is categorized in schedule I of Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972, provided highest security by law and order in India. Desert fox share its habitat with its sympatric species Indian fox (Vulpes benagalensis). It is easily distinguished from Indian fox by its white tail tip while Indian fox has black tail tip. It lives among sand dunes or in the broad sandy beds of Dry River and also in wasteland covered with scrub. It shelter in a burrow dug in the ground and where there is vegetation, among reeds and bushes (Prater, 1971). Pusilla appears to be the only fox actually found amongst the sand hills of desert (Pocock, 1941). Gerbils, spiny tailed lizard and other sand rats are their main prey items (Prater, …show more content…
Climate of Banni is arid and the temperature is of 48-49°C during May-June. The winter temperature goes down to 10°C with January and February being the coldest months. Total annual rainfall, occurs through south-east monsoon between June and September, which is very low with an average of 317 mm per year. The salinity of soil is very high variable from 1.0 to over 15.0 Mmhos/cm. In vegetation, Banni supports the growth of perennial and palatable grasses of high productivity, which grow in low to moderate saline areas. The grasses commonly found here include Sporobolus helvolus, Dichanthium annulatum, Cenchrus ciliaris, Cenchrus setigerus, and Desmostachya bipinata. High saline areas are colonized by perennial grasses of low productivity and palatability such as Aeluropus logpoides and Eurochondra sp. Among tree species, Acaia nilotica was once distributed all over the Banni landscape. The scrub and tree strata were mainly composed of Prosopis cineraria, Acacia nilotica, Acacia leucophloea, Salvedora persica, Salvedora oleodes and Capparis deciduas. Today the abundance of palatable grasses and tree species like Acacia and Salvadora spe have significantly decreased due to massive invasion and dominance of Prosopis juliflora. The fauna of Banni includes: the blue bull, chinkara,