All the records collected on the Iranian Plateau are from foothills and mountains in the vicinity of lower plains and basins (Hassinger 1973, Roberts 1977). ![]() ![]() Hassinger (1973) concluded that Blanford's Foxes are usually found below an altitude of 2,000 m asl in dry montane biotopes, (although see Peters and Rödel 1994). Habitat and Ecology Informationīlanford's Fox generally occurs in mountainous regions. In United Arab Emirates, for example, researchers frequently captured foxes in the northeastern mountains of the country (Smith et al. 2013). Surveys in other regions indicate that Blanford's Fox is locally abundant. In Jordan, density using the Bondrup-Nielsen formula identified 8.5 individuals per km 2 (Eid et al. In Israel, where the species is fairly common in the south-east, density estimates of 2.0/km 2 in Ein Gedi and 0.5/km 2 in Eilat have been recorded (Geffen 1994). The only available population densities come from Israel and Jordan. (Click on map for more detail) Population Information There are no confirmed records from Syria, though they might possibly occur (Masseti 2009). ![]() There is a single record from Egypt, west of the Suez Canal, in Wadi Qiseib from an animal collected in 1988, and originally thought to be Vulpes rueppellii (Peters and Rödel 1994, Geffen and Peters 2013). It also seemed likely that they would be shown to occur in western Yemen where contiguous with mountains in southwest Arabia (Mallon and Budd 2011), and a camera-trapping record by Mohammed Al-Qudamy in February 2014 in Wadi Sharis (Wadi Sharas) in Hajjah Governorate, NW of Sana'a, now confirms their occurrence (D. (2012) in Hawf Forest in Al Mahra Governorate in extreme eastern Yemen, close to the borders with Oman, at an altitude of about 1,200 m asl. They have long been suspected to occur in Yemen, and were recorded by Al Jumaily et al. 2004, Cunningham and Wronski 2009, Mallon and Budd 2011, Eid et al. 1996, Amr 2000, Cunningham and Howarth 2002, Smith et al. 1987, Harrison and Bates 1989, Harrison and Bates 1991, Al Khalili 1993, Stuart and Stuart 1995, Amr et al. In the Middle East, there are now confirmed records from Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt), Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (Mendelssohn et al. The Blanford's Fox has a disjunct distribution. Originally known only from southwestern Asia (Novikov 1962, Bobrinskii et al. 1965, Lay 1967, Hassinger 1973, Roberts 1977), in 1981 this species was discovered in Israel (Ilany 1983) and subsequently found to occur more widely in arid mountainous regions in the Arabian Peninsula. Peters and Rödel (1994) reviewed available distribution records of this species and, for the easterly part of the range, provided what they considered to be definite records from around the Iranian Plateau in Iran, Turkmenistan and Pakistan, with more questionable records (usually based on skins obtained from fur bazaars or otherwise indirectly) from Afghanistan and Tajikistan (though there is no obvious reason why they should not occur). It is fairly common in some parts of its range, and while the species may possibly be undergoing some localized declines, there is at present no evidence to suggest any range-wide decline that would meet the thresholds for a threatened category or for Near Threatened. This species is listed as Least Concern as available evidence suggests that Blanford's Fox has a relatively wide distribution albeit largely confined to mountainous regions. ![]() Other Names English: Blanford's Fox, Afghan Fox, Steppe Fox 2004 Status Survey & Conservation Action Plan - Chapters 7, 8 & 9.2015 IUCN Red List Assessment - Blanford's Fox.Blanford's fox - © Steve Kaufman Relevant Links
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