Survival and Cause‐Specific Mortality of Corsac and Red Foxes in Mongolia

Abstract

The corsac fox (Vulpes corsac) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) range widely across northern and central Asia and may be declining in many regions due to overhunting and other causes. However, details of the fundamental causes of survival and mortality of both species remain largely unquantified, but may be crucial for understanding interspecific relationships and developing effective conservation actions. We studied a radiomarked population of sympatric corsac and red foxes in central Mongolia to quantify survival and cause-specific mortality rates from April 2005 to April 2007. Survival probability was 0.34 for corsacs (n 5 18) and 0.46 for red foxes (n 5 17) and did not vary by year within or between each species. Among both foxes, mortality occurred mainly from hunting by humans, but also from predation by larger canids and unknown causes. Our results suggest that illegal human hunting represents the principal source of mortality for both species and that a recently initiated ranger patrol program in the study area did not affect fox survival. As such, more stringent protective measures will likely be necessary to halt declines of both foxes. Our results also suggest that interference competition occurs between species as red foxes killed but did not consume corsacs. Our results will be useful for developing science-based management strategies to protect foxes in Mongolia, and in understanding the competitive relationships between them.

First confirmed record of the Corsac Fox,Vulpes corsac,from Iran and considerations on its status (Mammalia: Canidae)

“…In a study conducted in Mongolia, the main mortality factors for Corsac Fox were hunting by humans (60%) and predation by other large carnivores (30%) (Murdoch et al, 2010b). Carnivores which potentially could conflict with Corsac Fox in this area are the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) and Golden Jackal (Canis aureus), although predation by the Golden Eagle is also reported.…”

“…Murdoch et al (2010b) reported that hedgehogs, Hemiechinus spp., form a very low percentage of Corsac Fox diet and only during a limited period of their life (0.4% in dispersal and 0.7% in breeding). There are few studies on Corsac diet and according to Murdoch et al (2010a) their main food items are insects followed by small mammals.…”

Evaluating the Quality of Protected Areas for Species: A Case Study in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia

“…management activities. For example, red foxes are intensively hunted (illegally) in the reserve during the winter (Murdoch et al, 2010a), and the distribution map shows areas where foxes are most likely to be found. Managers may then choose to focus their patrols on these areas during the hunting season.…”

“…However, radio-telemetry and observation data suggest that red foxes select some habitats more frequently than expected suggesting that the species is not uniformally distributed across the country (Murdoch, 2009;Munkhzul et al, 2012). In Ikh Nart, red foxes seem to favor more rugged, rocky terrain and the species is hunted intensively during the winter months (Murdoch et al, 2007;Murdoch et al, 2010a). Toad-headed agamas represent perhaps the most widely distributed reptile in Mongolia and can reach densities that exceed 100 individuals/ha (Rogovin et al, 2001;Murdoch et al, 2010b).…”

Untitled

“…In the mid-2000s, research expanded further to include meso-carnivores and their prey that focused primarily on the ecology of red (Vulpes vulpes) and corsac foxes (V. corsac; Murdoch et al, 2010aMurdoch et al, , 2010bMurdoch et al, , 2016Lkhagvasuren et al, 2016), but also gathered data on Pallas' cats (Otocolobus manul) and Asian badgers (Meles leucurus) (Murdoch et al, 2006a;Murdoch & Buyandelger, 2010). The meso-carnivore project also initiated annual monitoring of small mammal and lizard populations (Murdoch et al, 2010c(Murdoch et al, , 2010c.…”