The Houston Zoo is home to a lot of animals, and some of them are frequently overlooked. This series of blog entries will focus on the animals that you may have missed on your last visit.
Swift Fox in the Children's Zoo
Tucked into the far corner of the Children’s Zoo is the Swift Fox. It is the smallest wild dog relative found in North America. This little fox lives in the Great Plains, from southern Canada to the southwest US, and their range includes west Texas. They are fast, capable of running more that 30 mph, but like most predators, they prefer to do as little as possible. They are also good climbers, often scaling the giant flower stalk of the century plants found in the southwest.
If you check out our swift foxes, don’t expect to see a lot of activity. These animals are primarily nocturnal and spend most of their day sleeping. Unless you see them in person, though, it is hard to tell just how small they really are. We have 2 swift foxes, a male and a female, and one is almost always curled up asleep on the ledge at the back of the exhibit.
Swift Fox exhibit in the Children's Zoo
To find the swift foxes, head to the back of the Children’s Zoo, past the farm and the prairie dogs. They are in the exhibit on the outside of the building with the bat cave, near the yellow pavilion.
Of course, no animal is guaranteed to be visible on every visit. Even if you know where to look, you might still miss the animal if it is off exhibit or hiding especially well when you visit. But now you know where the swift foxes makes their home at the Houston Zoo, and hopefully you’ll get to see one the next time you visit!
