No. 252 Vulpes Ferrilatus. — The Thibetan Grey Fox
Native Name.—Iger, Thibetan.
Habitat.—Thibet.
Description.—Pale fulvous, with grizzled white or iron-grey sides; shorter ears than in the Indian fox.
We now come to the true foxes, with shorter legs and moderate ears.
No. 253. VULPES MONTANUS.
The Hill Fox (Jerdon’s No. 140).
Native Names.—Loh, Kashmiri; Lomri, Hindi, at Simla; Wamu, Nepalese.
Habitat.—Throughout the Himalayas.
Description.—Pale fulvous, with a dark brownish or deep chestnut streak down the back; sides deeper fulvous; the haunches a steely grey, mixed with yellowish hairs; tail grey and very bushy, largely tipped with white; ears deep black on outside; cheeks and jowl greyish-white; moustaches black; legs chestnut in front, paling off behind.
Size.—Head and body, 30 inches; tail, 19 inches; weight, 14 lbs.
Not at all unlike an English fox, only more variegated. The foregoing description is taken chiefly from a very fine specimen shot in the garden of the house in which I stayed at Simla; but it is subject to great variation, and is in its chief beauty in its winter dress. Several specimens which I have seen are all more or less different in colour. I have never seen a handsomer fox; the fur is extremely rich, the longer hairs exceeding two inches, and the inner fur is fine and dense. It is said to breed in April and May, the female usually having three to four cubs.
No. 254. VULPES PUSILLUS.
The Punjab Fox (Jerdon’s No. 141).
Habitat.—Punjab Salt Range.
Description.—Similar to the last, but much smaller, being about the size of the Indian fox. Jerdon suggests that it may be a variety of the last species, dwarfed by a warmer climate, but Blyth and others keep it apart.
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