Illustration from Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia/Corbis
July 6, 1805, at Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana.
The swift fox is the smallest wild dog in North America. Fur is light gray with orange-tan coloring on the sides and legs. Throat, chest, underside and inside of ears creamy white, tail is bushy with black tip. Male slightly larger than female. Height: 12 in (30 cm); length: 32 in (80 cm). Weight: 4.4-6.6 lb (2-3 kg).
Primarily in shortgrass prairies and deserts.
At present there are a few scattered populations of swift fox in the Great Plains of the U.S. and in western Canada. The largest population is in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Wyoming, where it is stable.