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Cocky foxes brush with fate

December 10, 2001

A captive-bred animal’s “personality” could significantly influence its chance of survival following reintroduction to the wild, ecologists have discovered. Working with the endangered North American swift fox, Samantha Bremner will tell the British Ecological Society’s Winter Meeting, to be held at the University of Warwick on 18–20 December 2001, that shy foxes are much more likely to survive reintroduction to the wild compared with bolder individuals.

The findings could have major implications for other captive breeding programmes, which are crucial to the survival of many species. According to Bremner, of the Queen’s University of Belfast: “This is the first time that personality has been used to develop a test for selecting captive-bred individuals for release into the wild.” Until now, captive breeding programmes have relied on genetic testing (to ensure release of a genetically diverse population) and pre-release training to help animals survive after release.

Bremner studied groups of swift foxes (Vulpes velox) at the Cochrane Ecological Institute in Alberta, Canada, and developed a personality score for each individual, based on whether they were bold or cautious when confronted with new objects such as beach balls and sacks stuffed with noisy paper. After these foxes were released into the wild on the Blackfeet Indian Tribal Reservation in Montana, USA, Bremner tracked them for six months using radio-collars. “We found a significant relationship between boldness and survival. Bold foxes were less likely to survive after release into the wild. One-third of the radio-collared foxes died, and these had the highest boldness scores. The findings could have implications for the criteria we use in future to select appropriate animals for release,” Bremner says.

The small, orange swift fox gets its name from its fleet-footedness; able to reach speeds of 40 km/h, yet only the size of a domestic cat. Swift foxes were once found throughout the Great Plains of North America, covering a similar range to the bison. Numbers declined drastically as the plains were developed for agriculture, and the fox lost its habitat and its life to farmers and fur trappers. They are now found in only 40% of their former range.

Bremner says: “The number of swift foxes fell for a number of reasons, but all are either directly or indirectly related to human habitation and development of the prairies. As trappers traveled west across America, many swift fox were trapped for their fur. There was also extensive loss of habitat as native grassland was turned into farmland, and enormous numbers of swift fox were accidentally killed in the massive trapping and poisoning programmes of the 1930s when farmers were trying to control wolves and coyotes.”

Samantha Bremner will present her full findings at 09.40 on Wednesday 19 December 2001.

British Ecological Society (BES)