The gray fox will commonly spend most of the day in the den, and be most active at night. Kits will begin to take solid food 6 weeks after birth and leave the family group in early fall. Originally a native to the great plains, the swift fox was basically eliminated from the great plains by the use of the chemical poison 1080. The substance was used by ranchers to kill predators until it was banned by President Richard Nixon in 1972. Today the swift fox is found primarily in the plains states of Montana, Colorado and a few other states and Canada and is making a slow comeback.
Swift foxes are agile hunters and very quick.
They eat rodents, birds, rabbits and other prairie animals. Unlike other foxes and other wild dogs the swift fox will lay motionless and blend into its surroundings to hide from predators rather than run. Like other foxes the swift fox mates in January to February and the kits are born usually in March with the litter consisting of 4-7 kits. Extremely shy the kit fox is not often seen. Its range is primarily in the Southwestern United States California, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Texas, as well as Northern Mexico.