Desert Fox

The main threat to the long-term survival of the Kit Fox is habitat conversion, mainly to agriculture but also to urban and industrial development. In both western and eastern Mexico, prairie dog towns, which support important populations of Kit Foxes are being converted to agricultural fields (e.g., Ávila-Flores et al. 2012), and in eastern Mexico the road network is expanding, producing a concomitant increase in the risk of vehicle mortality. In the San Joaquin Valley of California, habitat conversion for agriculture is slowing, but habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation associated with industrial and urban development are still occurring at a rapid pace. More recently, expansive industrial-scale solar energy generating facilities are being constructed throughout the western USA, but particularly in California, Arizona, and Nevada.

Not listed on the CITES Appendices. The Kit Fox is considered Vulnerable in Mexico (SEMARNAT 2010). In the United States, the San Joaquin Kit Fox (V. m. mutica) is federally classified as Endangered, and as Threatened by the state of California (USFWS 1998). In Oregon, Kit Foxes are classified as Threatened. In Colorado, Kit Foxes are classified as Endangered. In Idaho, Kit Foxes are considered a protected non-game species. Harvests are not permitted in Idaho, Oregon, or California, and the Kit Fox is a protected furbearer species (i.e., regulated harvests) in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. In Mexico, the vulnerable status of the Kit Fox grants conservation measures for the species, but these are not enforced. In the United States, state and federal protections for Kit Foxes are being enforced. 
In Mexico, Kit Foxes are found in the Biosphere Reserves of El Vizcaino, Mapimi, El Pinacate and Janos, in the Area of Special Protection of Cuatro Ciénegas, and are probably found in another eight protected areas throughout their range. In the United States, they occur in numerous protected areas throughout their range. The Endangered subspecies V. m. mutica occurs in the Carrizo Plain National Monument and various other federal, state, and private conservation lands.

Efforts are underway to protect the prairie dog towns of both eastern (Pronatura Noreste) and western Mexico (Institute of Ecology from the National University of Mexico), which are known to be strongholds for the Kit Fox, but no specific actions focused on the Kit Fox are being undertaken in Mexico. In the United States, a recovery plan has been completed (USFWS 1998) and is being implemented for the San Joaquin Kit Fox. Recovery actions include protection of essential habitat, and demographic and ecological research in both natural and anthropogenically modified landscapes.

No captive breeding efforts are currently being conducted for Kit Foxes. Facilities such as the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona, California Living Museum in Bakersfield, California, and several zoos keep live Kit Foxes for display and educational purposes.

Gaps in knowledge
In general, demographic and ecological data are needed throughout the range of the species so that population trends and demographic patterns can be assessed. In Mexico, available information on the Kit Fox is scarce. The most important gaps in our knowledge of the species are the present distribution of the species and population estimates throughout its range. General biological information is needed from more localities in the Mexican range of the Kit Fox. In the United States, information is needed on the effects of solar energy plants, investigating dispersal patterns and corridors, determining metapopulation dynamics and conducting viability analyses, developing conservation strategies in anthropogenically altered landscapes, assessing threats from non-native Red Foxes, and range-wide population monitoring.

Research in progress in Mexico includes investigations of abundance and diet in the Janos Biosphere Reserve as well as relationships between Kit Foxes and sylvatic plague. Research in progress on the endangered San Joaquin Kit Fox include investigations of solar energy development effects, trophic interactions, urban ecology, population genetic structure, ecology in core and satellite population areas, and population effects of sarcoptic mange. Research in progress elsewhere in the USA includes abundance and ecology in Oregon, detection and ecology in Idaho, survey methods in low-density areas, interactions with coyotes near artificial water sources in Utah, effects of off-highway vehicles in Arizona, and distribution and occupancy in New Mexico.