Researchers with Texas A&M AgriLife are studying whether livestock guardian dogs guarding a cattle herd on the Rita Blanca National Grasslands can help conserve the swift fox. The species is believed to number fewer than 250 statewide, according to the researchers. Haley Sloan, a doctoral student in the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, said several factors have contributed to the decline of the fox, which is roughly the size of a housecat.
Dana Karelus, state mammal specialist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said only 40 to 50% of the shortgrass prairie ecosystem remains because of habitat loss and fragmentation. Sloan said coyotes can use taller vegetable cover in these areas, and that coyote predation is a leading cause of swift fox deaths.
Sloan said the study aims to learn whether the dogs, working with cattle, can change coyote behavior and reduce fox mortality. Dallam County is the only known county in the state with a swift fox population. The work is part of a broader effort co-led by John Tomeček of Texas A&M and researchers at Texas Tech University, with funding from Texas Parks and Wildlife.