All foxes are pretty, but the little desert kit fox is the most likable of them all. It is only the size of a large house cat and so gentle and full of curiosity that it is sometimes discovered following people who are walking in the desert. If seen it does not run off unless threatened. It makes a lovely picture with large, pointed ears standing alert, button nose sniffing the air, and its round eyes watching everything that’s going on.
The desert kit fox has fur which is usually gray with patterns of yellow and black. It has a typical fox’s bushy tail, which is about half the length of its 20-inch body. Its short legs are well muscled, and although it cannot run fast for long distances, it can make quick turns to scoot into brush or behind rocks when it’s necessary to hide.
When Jesus was on earth He said, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” Matthew 8:2020And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Matthew 8:20). How sad to think that the One who was the very Creator of the world had no place to lay His head! But He has provided such a place for the foxes.
Dens of the kit fox are usually made by digging a burrow in firm sand or dirt, or under the big roots of a tree, or it may move into one abandoned by another animal. If taking over an abandoned den, the kit fox cleans it out first, then she may have to enlarge it to provide a nest for the soon-to-arrive little ones. These burrows are usually six or seven feet long, dropping steeply from the surface, and they almost always have more than one opening for emergency entrances or exits.
Normally four of five kits are born soon after the den is completed. Then the father fox brings food to the mother while she stays with the babies. Gradually she acquaints them with the outdoors, teaching them to catch rodents, rabbits, lizards, insects and even birds. She also teaches them how to protect themselves from enemies.
The Creator has well adapted these desert citizens to their surroundings with coats blending in with the desert. The soles of their feet are covered with fur, but the toes remain bare so they can dig in the ground and also move freely over desert surfaces. Scorpions abound in such places, and their bite would be deadly to most foxes, but God has given the desert fox an immunity to the poison so it does not affect them at all. He has also given them keen hearing and vision, and an excellent sense of smell, all to help them find food as well as to protect them from their enemies.
The Bible expresses this well: “The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Psalms 145:99The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. (Psalm 145:9). But there is more than this in His love for every person who will respond to Him. Of this the Bible also says: “Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee.” Psalms 31:1919Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! (Psalm 31:19). Have you found this happiness of truly trusting in Him?
ML-03/24/1985