Red fox populations thrive in Karamay

At approximately 7:30 a.m. on May 11, beside a red fox cave deep in the Gobi desert area of Guhai Ecological Park in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the morning light had just begun to spill over the earthen slope when a young red fox was the first to poke out its furry head. Its round eyes scanned the surroundings vigilantly, while the tip of its nose gently sampled the scents carried on the breeze. Soon afterward, a litter of six young red foxes emerged from the cave one after another, chasing and playing on the earthen slope at the entrance, adding a lively touch to the otherwise silent Gobi landscape.

Photo shows an adult red fox stands behind its cub, its eyes warily looking ahead, while the cub is affectionately lying at its feet in the southern suburbs of the Gobi Desert of Guhai Ecological Park in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Min Yong)

A young red fox stands on a rock near Fengqi Lake in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Min Yong)

Photo shows three young foxes play under the setting sun in the southern suburbs of the Gobi Desert of Guhai Ecological Park in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Min Yong)

According to the identification of experts from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, most of the foxes living around Karamay are red foxes, which are second-class protected wild animals in China. They are mammals of the genus Vulpes in the family Canidae of the order Carnivora and are the largest and most widely distributed fox species. Red foxes possess highly developed hearing and olfactory abilities. They are alert, agile, and swift in movement, feeding mainly on wild rodents, hares, and small wild birds. They prefer to build caves and settle in earthen burrows, rock crevices, and depressions in the Gobi, making them well adapted to the arid desert environment of the Junggar Basin.

Photo shows two young foxes play under the setting sun in the southern suburbs of the Gobi Desert of Guhai Ecological Park in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Min Yong)

Photo shows three young foxes play under the setting sun in the southern suburbs of the Gobi Desert of Guhai Ecological Park in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Min Yong)

“At present, red foxes are in a critical period of breeding and cub-rearing. In addition to the area around Guhai Ecological Park in the southern suburbs of the urban district, red foxes have also been observed successively in several suburban and wilderness areas, including the shores of Fengqi Lake, the Gobi desert in the western suburbs, and the Gobi area near Xinjiang Second Medical College in the eastern suburbs, where they are building caves, giving birth to cubs, and where groups of cubs can be seen playing,” said Zhao Lansheng, founding president of the Municipal Wildlife Conservation Association. He noted that each litter usually contains four to eight cubs. Today, breeding populations of red foxes distributed around the city have brought a vivid and distinctive natural landscape to the urban-rural fringe and surrounding wildlands.

Photo shows two young red foxes practice hunting under the setting sun in the southern suburbs of the Gobi Desert of Guhai Ecological Park in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Wang Xinhua)

Photo shows two young foxes share food at the cave entrance in the southern suburbs of the Gobi Desert of Guhai Ecological Park in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Min Yong)

In recent years, Karamay City has continued to advance ecological projects such as wetland restoration, desert vegetation rehabilitation, and integrated water-system management. As the ecological belt around the city has steadily improved, populations of wild animals, including rodents, hares, and migratory birds, have increased year by year, which provides red foxes with abundant food resources. At the same time, residents' awareness of wildlife conservation has continued to grow. Their conscious efforts to care for living creatures and avoid disturbing animals in their natural habitats have created a safe and stable environment for red foxes to settle and reproduce.

Photo shows two young foxes play under the setting sun in the southern suburbs of the Gobi Desert of Guhai Ecological Park in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Min Yong)

Photo shows the young foxes look around at the entrance of the cave in the southern suburbs of the Gobi Desert of Guhai Ecological Park in Karamay City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Min Yong)

“From sporadic appearances to widespread settlement and clustered reproduction, the growth of the red fox population bears witness to the continued improvement of Karamay’s ecological environment,” said Zhao Lansheng.

(The Media Convergence Center of Karamay, Reporter Min Yong)