Celebrating the return of the swift fox

Today we’re celebrating one of the most charismatic yet elusive prairie species: Vulpes velox, the swift fox. Swift foxes are primarily carnivores, relying on populations of small mammals like mice, rabbits, and prairie dogs. Weighing only five pounds in adulthood, Montana classifies these small, sneaky predators as “vulnerable because of rarity or restricted range.”?

That status might be changing thanks to a new collaboration between the Fort Belknap community, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI), Defenders of Wildlife, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. These organizations are part of a five-year reintroduction project that aims to collect 200-250 swift foxes from healthy, large populations in Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas, and then release those animals at Fort Belknap.??

"They’ll have stories about the swift fox now. I can tell my grandkids, ‘I remember when the swift fox was released.’ I can tell them about what it meant to us as Aaniiih and Nakoda people. This story will be passed down. This one right here." -Clarena Brockie, member of the Aaniiih Nation on Fort Belknap

American Prairie is proud to be a part of the network of conservation organizations and other land managers working to provide critical habitat for this important prairie species. We are also proud to support the community engagement and public outreach efforts that are a part of this project, and to work in close collaboration with our friends and neighbors in the Aaniiih Nakoda community.?

Swift foxes once called much of the Great Plains home, but their population numbers plummeted during the 1800s - an unintended victim of the poisoning and trapping campaigns intended for coyotes and wolves. Reintroduction efforts began in the 1980s on Blackfeet and Fort Peck tribal lands and in Canada, but these northern populations were isolated from the foxes that remained in the southern reaches of their historic habitat. The new population in and around Fort Belknap is an important step toward bridging that divide.

Over the course of 2020, 2021, and 2022, 103 swift foxes were translocated from Wyoming and Colorado. Once they reached Fort Belknap, the foxes were held in special “soft release pens” to help them acclimate to their new habitat - and provide the newcomers a bit of shelter from predators before they got a feel for their new home.

A number of the swift foxes were fitted with GPS collars designed to degrade and fall off after roughly a year. The collars transmit location data three times a day, allowing the project researchers to map dispersal patterns, look for den sites, and track mortality of the reintroduced animals.

Using that GPS data and observational reports, researchers have located three natal dens and recorded at least sixteen pups born since the start of the project - the first to be born in this part of the Northern Great Plains in over fifty years! Even more exciting: footage from camera traps and community observations suggest that the actual number of new pups is likely much higher than sixteen.

GPS collar data has also revealed that the swift foxes are dispersing throughout and well beyond Fort Belknap’s 675,147 acres. The tracking data indicates a lot of travel east onto American Prairie’s new Wild Horse property, and even some movement across Highway 191 towards White Rock.?

The GPS collars and camera traps are just two aspects of the data collection process. Blood and fecal samples were collected from each fox ahead of release, and continued DNA analysis is made possible via scat samples collected from the field.

Researchers are focused on not just the health and genetic diversity of the new swift fox population, but also their behavior - one study is even looking for stress markers and personality indicators! Measuring the animals’ hormone levels provides important information about how they’re coping with the reintroduction process and whether they’re thriving in their new home.

This project would not be possible without the collaboration of many partners. Field monitoring, data management, and community engagement efforts are coordinated by Smithsonian Research Fellows from Montana State University, George Mason University, and Clemson University. The project also offers students from the Aaniiih Nakoda College an opportunity to gain valuable field research experience through internships. A wider collaboration with the ANC has resulted in a number of classes and public seminars.?

In December, the Smithsonian’s NZCBI released a short film documenting the Fort Belknap swift fox reintroduction efforts. “The Return of Nóouhàh-Toka’na” details the partnership between the Aaniiih and Nakoda of Fort Belknap, ecologists and researchers from the Smithsonian, and a number of other partners working to restore this iconic species of the American prairie.?

"These tribes have been champions in reintroducing prairie species back to their homelands. They reintroduced bison in the 1970s, black-footed ferrets in the ‘90s, and now, swift foxes." -Hila Shamon, Smithsonian ecologist

Visiting the prairie or driving on Highway 191 south of Malta? Keep your eyes peeled! While swift foxes are similar in coloring to a red fox, they have a black tip on their tail and are significantly smaller. Swift foxes are primarily nocturnal, but they are active during the day in the spring and summer months - and they have been known to emerge from their dens to take advantage of the warmth of a sunny winter day.

Learn more about the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and their swift fox recovery project online.