Just three in 10 years, Indian fox sightings go down in southern districts

THE sightings of Indian fox (Vulpes bengalensis) have drastically come down in the southern districts due to various factors including habitat destruction, says a recent study published on August 21 in a journal 'Mammal tales', which evidently recorded only three sightings in the past decade.

- S GODSON WISELY DASS @Thoothukudi

The Indian fox, vernacularly called Kullanari, is found in the dens across semi-arid areas, dry grasslands and scrublands in the southern districts of Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi.

The species, categorised as Least Concern in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and protected under Wildlife (Protection) Act of India 1972, plays an important role in the food chain by controlling the population of small animals, rodents and insects. It preys on birds and small animals. Farmers noted that the population of peafowl and feral pigs might have increased due to drastic decline of foxes and jackals, adversely affecting the agriculture fields.

According to the study 'Range reaffirmation: Indian fox sighting in eastern Tamil Nadu after four decades', authored by Rameshwaran Mariappan, Bawa Mothilal Krishnakumar, and Mithran Maheswaran, the Indian fox population had gradually declined.