Stats

Lifespan

4-6 yrs

Size

Small

Diet

Omnivore

Activity

Cathemeral

Social

Pair

Biome

Temperate shrubland

Range

North America

Movement

Walking

Breeding

Live birth

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Near Threatened

About

A fox found only on six of California's Channel Islands, evolved down to the size of a house cat through island dwarfism with no natural land predators. It's one of the smallest canid species in the world.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   newborn pup

   A blind newborn pup nurses and sleeps, completely dependent on its mother.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   A weaned pup wrestles with littermates, learns its place in the pack, and starts eating meat.
3. 3.
   adolescent

   An adolescent canid reaches near-adult size with long legs and a thinner coat, learning to hunt cooperatively.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown and hunting alongside the pack.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Canidae

Genus

Urocyon

Species

Urocyon littoralis