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Kit foxes make themselves at home within Bakersfield city limits
Los Angeles Times / LATimes.com ^ | February 19, 2012, 6:38 p.m. | By Steve Chawkins, Los Angeles Times

Posted on 02/20/2012 8:33:45 PM PST by thecodont

Like lovers in Paris, San Joaquin kit foxes will always have Bakersfield.

The rare little foxes come out mostly at night. They find fabulous food everywhere: chunks of cheeseburger from dumpsters, shreds of taco on windblown wrappers. And the accommodations: What can beat a cozy den in the student quarter — specifically, beneath portable classrooms in the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District?

The 17,000-student district isn't crazy about the foxes, especially when about one-third of its 23 elementary and junior high schools have to deal with them on a regular basis. Administrators have offered a wildlife biologist $25,000 for a plan to manage the endangered species, which is literally, and uneasily, underfoot.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; US: California
KEYWORDS: bakersfield; kitfox; wildlife
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Cute little things! They have found (to the chagrin of some) a niche.
1 posted on 02/20/2012 8:33:57 PM PST by thecodont
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To: thecodont

Ah yes. The kit fox. Some assembly required...


2 posted on 02/20/2012 8:35:58 PM PST by null and void (Day 1126 of America's ObamaVacation from reality [Heroes aren't made, Frank, they're cornered...])
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To: thecodont

If they banned feeding the foxes, maybe they’d leave.


3 posted on 02/20/2012 8:40:55 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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To: Joe 6-pack
Do foxes, which are in the dog family even if not of genus Canis, get your interest?
4 posted on 02/20/2012 8:43:00 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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To: thecodont
Administrators have offered a wildlife biologist $25,000 for a plan to manage the endangered species, which is literally, and uneasily, underfoot.

Close the schools. Keep the foxes. Where do I get my money?

5 posted on 02/20/2012 8:44:38 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: thecodont

Kit foxes aren’t rare. There is no end to the number of projects they’ve shut down in the Bakersfield area. Tey are everywhere in abundance here.


6 posted on 02/20/2012 8:44:56 PM PST by umgud (No Rats, No Rino's)
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To: AnAmericanMother; Titan Magroyne; Badeye; Shannon; SandRat; arbooz; potlatch; ...
WOOOF!

The Doggie Ping list is for FReepers who would like to be notified of threads relating to all things canid. If you would like to join the Doggie Ping Pack (or be unleashed from it), FReemail me.

7 posted on 02/20/2012 8:52:17 PM PST by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
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To: umgud

Seems these “endangered” critters are strangely bent on making themselves virtual household animals. Older societies would likely have accommodated this, and we’d start to see pet foxes.


8 posted on 02/20/2012 8:52:47 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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To: null and void
I didn't know there were a lot of Kit Foxes in Bakersfield?

Cite little airplane~

Cessna 195 driver

9 posted on 02/20/2012 8:56:05 PM PST by Niteflyr ("The number one goal in life is to parent yourself" Carl Jung)
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To: umgud

As for rare species becoming pets... this is probably precedented by the domestic cat. There isn’t any wild species that, like the wolf does to the dog, can claim to share a species with the domestic cat. This means that the domestic cat managed to get itself off of some hypothetical ancient endangered list by making itself a household pet. But there were no biologists hovering over society to make a stink about it either.


10 posted on 02/20/2012 8:56:46 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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To: null and void
Ah yes. The kit fox. Some assembly required...

LOL!
11 posted on 02/20/2012 9:00:29 PM PST by Krankor (eenie meenie, chili beanie, the spirits are about to speak.)
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To: hinckley buzzard

Make them a member of the local church, then you would only see them at Christmas and Easter.


12 posted on 02/20/2012 9:01:14 PM PST by irishtenor (Everything in moderation, however, too much whiskey is just enough... Mark Twain)
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To: All

Cute 'lil critters.

The kit fox is the smallest species of the Canidae family that can be found in North America. They have large ears, between 71–95 mm (2.8–3.75 in), that help the fox lower its body temperature and give it exceptional hearing. This species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the male being slightly larger. The average species weight is between 1.6–2.7 kg (3.5–6 lbs). The body length is 455 to 535 mm (18 to 21 in). The tail adds another 250–340 mm (9.85–13.4 in) to their length.[3]

It usually has a gray coat, with rusty tones, and a black tip to its tail.

Male and female kit foxes usually establish monogamous mating pairs during October and November. Polygamous mating relationships have been observed. Pairs can change year to year. They mate from December to February, when they use larger family dens.[clarification needed] Litters are born throughout March and April, usually containing 1 to 7 pups, and averaging 4 pups. The gestation is 49 to 55 days.

Pups do not leave the den until they are 4 weeks old. They are weaned after about 8 weeks and become independent at 5 to 6 months old. They become sexually mature at 10 months. Both parents take part in raising and protecting their young.

The average lifespan of a wild kit fox is 5.5 years. In captivity, they can live 12 years. One California study of 144 kit fox pups showed a 74% mortality rate in pups within the first year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Fox

13 posted on 02/20/2012 9:08:08 PM PST by patriot08 (TEXAS GAL- born and bred and proud of it!)
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To: null and void

From personal experience, assembly at 2:00 am on Christmas Eve can be a bit frustrating. However, it’s well worth it. The children were just delighted finding their cute kit foxes under the tree,


14 posted on 02/20/2012 9:09:33 PM PST by HotKat (Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason. Mark Twain)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_cat


15 posted on 02/20/2012 9:12:51 PM PST by mamelukesabre
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To: mamelukesabre
Meow.

None of the wild cats are believed to share the catus species unless they are re-feralized house cats. Many other species are close and can successfully breed with the house cat. Even some of different genera. But none stand as identical species to the domestic cat as the wolf does to the domestic dog.

16 posted on 02/20/2012 9:22:41 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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To: HiTech RedNeck

The african wildcat subspecies *IS* the domesticated cat. The tibetan wolf subspecies *IS* the domesticated dog.
The north american wolf is as different from a dog as the european wildcat is from a house cat.


17 posted on 02/20/2012 9:31:39 PM PST by mamelukesabre
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To: thecodont

Are these illegal alien kit foxes? They survive like many illegal aliens.


18 posted on 02/20/2012 9:38:25 PM PST by righttackle44 (I may not be much, but I raised a United States Marine.)
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To: thecodont
They find fabulous food everywhere: chunks of cheeseburger from dumpsters, shreds of taco on windblown wrappers.

How do kit foxes climb up into dumpsters - or climb back out? And unless the streets of Bakersfield are filled with windblown taco wrappers, that won't work either. More likely they're eating from backyard pet food bowls or someone's feeding them.
19 posted on 02/20/2012 9:38:48 PM PST by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: mamelukesabre
All wolves (North American, Tibetan, wherever) and domestic dogs are Canis lupus something. There is no wildcat that is Felis catus anything.
20 posted on 02/20/2012 9:53:16 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Sometimes progressives find their scripture in the penumbra of sacred bathroom stall writings (Tzar))
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