Tibetan Fox: I'm so square! I did it on purpose

The Tibetan fox , with its confused and world-weary square face, has become an internet celebrity in the animal world and an emoticon package in everyone's mobile phones.

However, apart from this silly face, how much do you know about it?

Some time ago, the author of this article participated in a Tibetan fox research project in Jiatang Grassland, Qinghai, and dealt with this animal, which was called "Tibetan dog" by local herdsmen, for some time.

Today we will listen to him tell the story about the Tibetan fox.

Why do Tibetan foxes meow?

In the past, the Tibetan fox was always an emoticon package in my phone. It was not until the summer vacation that I came to Jiatang Grassland as a "graduate student of Shanshui Nature Conservation Center" and monitoring work such as "picking up feces" for Tibetan foxes became my daily routine.

What are you looking at?

Image from: wildlife-sensor

Miaowu was the first Tibetan fox I met (its story was entirely recorded in video footage taken by an infrared camera).

**Meow lives in a dirt cave on the grassland. **This cave once belonged to a desert cat. Later, the mother cat moved away with her two cubs. After several rotations, Meow settled down in this cave at the end of 2019.

Desert Cat

Image from: wild cat family

At the beginning of 2020, Jiatang suffered a snowstorm, and many livestock died of hunger and cold. Miaowu's caves were often blocked by snow.

During this time, Meow often used his front legs to push aside the snow to expose his head, or came out and lay in front of the cave, howling "Meow, meow" in the distance. This happened on sunny days, and also on windy and snowy afternoons.

Tibetan fox foraging in the snow

Image from: inaturalist

When I was sorting out the data, I was really amazed by its voice - the voice sounded like a cat's meow, and a little like a baby crying, which was completely inconsistent with its silly square face.

Because I was so impressed by its cry, I simply named it "Meow".

Staying in the snow for a long time and howling is a risky behavior, because this grassland is home to the manul, a hunter more powerful than the Tibetan fox. So why did Miaowu not hesitate to expose himself?

I guess it's a mating call.

Tibetan foxes usually mate in February and March and give birth in April and May. The data was shot in mid-to-late January, which is the Tibetan fox's mating season.

For a long time, I thought Miaowu's howl was a love song for single "dogs". But later, I suddenly found that in a video, there were two Tibetan foxes in front of Miaowu's house! Miaowu was lying at the entrance of the cave with a pika in its mouth. Suddenly, it looked into the distance, and then lay on the snow with its whole body, making a completely different humming sound from before, and seemed very happy. Then, another Tibetan fox appeared, and Miaowu showed its belly without any defense, and began to play and frolic with it.

Even a Tibetan fox has to feed me dog food!

Image from: inaturalist

Faced with this sudden "dog food", I was confused: Is Miaowu one fox or two foxes? These two Tibetan foxes are extremely similar, with no obvious difference in appearance. Are they a mate? Are the Miaowu I saw actually the two of them taking turns to appear in the photo?

I still haven’t figured out this question. Therefore, I feel that although infrared cameras are convenient, they can only show sporadic fragments of animals, and in-depth research still requires field tracking and investigation.

Image source: observation.org

Why do Tibetan foxes have square faces and small eyes?

If you have ever been to the plateau to participate in nature observation activities such as bird watching or animal watching, you will find that the first carnivore you see there is likely to be today's protagonist - the Tibetan fox.

In China, Canidae is not a very large group, and all its members are divided into four genera. Among them, Vulpes is the largest genus with relatively large members, including the Tibetan fox.

Fox brothers and sisters

Image from: wikipedia

Whether we have seen the Tibetan fox on the Internet or in real life, we will never forget its wide nose, square face and squinting eyes.

In terms of appearance, the Tibetan fox is obviously not as charming and pleasing to the eye as its close relative, the red fox, nor as slender and graceful as the sand fox, but this peaceful look and body shape are highly specialized adaptations to life on the plateau.

Red Fox

Image from: section of mammals

**The Tibetan fox is slightly smaller than the red fox, but its head is larger in proportion, and its snout is wider and thicker than that of the red fox and sand fox. **This is because the wide nasal cavity can utilize more heat, and the inhaled air will also have a preheating process in the nasal cavity before entering the lungs, reducing irritation to the respiratory tract and lungs.

The Tibetan fox's earlobes are also relatively smaller, reducing heat loss.

The skeleton structure of the Tibetan fox's head is not fat, but a large skeleton.

Image from: wikipedia

The Tibetan fox's body color is mainly yellow and gray. The area from the head, back to the upper tail root is yellow, and the tail and around the sides of the body are gray. When it crawls on the ground, this color combination blends in with the ground environment, providing camouflage and convenience for approaching prey when hunting.

The Tibetan fox's eyes, which are always squinting, are the best adaptation to the strong sunlight on the plateau. It can be said that the characteristics that people talk about so much are the result of full utilization of the environment and adaptive evolution. They are better adapted to the plateau environment than the red fox and have more advantages on the plateau.

Tibetan Fox: I am so square, I did it on purpose

I didn’t expect that the squinty-eyed, square-faced Tibetan fox not only looks “outstanding”, but also has such a cute contrast in its cry. Who wouldn’t want to rub it after hearing it!

Of course, in reality, wild Tibetan foxes must not be raped. This is because Tibetan foxes are hosts to the zoonotic pathogen Echinococcus granulosus, which is the most serious type of tapeworm that can infect humans.

Written by: Deng Xingyu and Zhang Tongtong

WeChat Editor: Happy

Source: Museum