kit fox

American  

noun

1. either of two small gray foxes, Vulpes macrotis and V. velox, found on plains and in open, sandy areas of western North America, commercially valuable for their fur.

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kit fox British  

noun

1. another name for swift fox

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Etymology

Origin of kit fox

1795–1805, probably special use of kit ³

Example Sentences

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, kit fox dens are being increasingly destroyed by large-scale industrial energy development.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2024

“Even smart, climate-saving clean-energy development like solar projects are often badly sited and destroy important kit fox habitat,” the center says.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2024

When overlayed with existing and proposed renewable energy projects, an additional 1.7% of Joshua tree habitat and 3.9% of kit fox habitat could be lost.

From Science Daily • Mar. 8, 2024

The extra moisture spurred the growth of grasses and other plants, which in turn attracted kit fox prey: insects, lizards, nesting birds, and the little canine’s staple here, ground squirrels.

From National Geographic • Jan. 6, 2021

Droppings of the kit fox show an abundance of bones of small mammals of kangaroo rat size, among them those of spectabilis.

From Life History of the Kangaroo Rat by Vorhies, Charles Taylor