The swift fox (Vulpes velox) is a small fox that inhabits the shortgrass prairies of North America. As its English name "swift" indicates, it is quick in its movements and runs across open areas of short grass to pursue prey and evade predators. Primarily nocturnal, it uses burrows dug by prairie dogs and other animals or those it excavates itself for resting, raising young, and refuge from danger. Its diet includes rodents, rabbits, insects, and birds, and it adjusts its feeding habits according to available food. Once widely extirpated in many areas by poison baits, trapping, and conversion of its habitat to farmland, reintroductions using captive-bred individuals have been carried out in places such as Canada. Its current IUCN status is Least Concern (LC), but prairie fragmentation, vehicle collisions, and predation by coyotes remain threats to local populations.