CreatureData

Cape fox

Vulpes chama (A. Smith, 1833)

LCLeast Concernmammals

The cape fox (Vulpes chama) is a mammal in the family Canidae, order Carnivora, and genus Vulpes. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial, nocturnal carnivore with an adult body mass of 2.96 kg and up to 3.46 kg.

Cape fox (Vulpes chama)
Photo: Yathin S Krishnappa · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the cape fox

Gestation lasts from 51 to 53 days, litters average 2.9 young, and sexual maturity comes at 311 days, or 10 months. Its lifespan is 10 years, up to 10.65 years, and the IUCN Red List classes it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

Weight
2.96 kg – 3.46 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
10 years – 10.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
51 days – 53 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
2.88src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
10.2 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the cape fox live?

Not recorded

What is the cape fox?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Cape fox (Vulpes chama), also called the asse, cama fox or the silver-backed fox, is a small species of fox, native to southern Africa. It is the only "true fox" occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, and it retains primitive characteristics of Vulpes because it diverged early in the evolutionary history of the group.

From the Wikipedia article “Cape fox” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cape_fox&oldid=1380846419), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the cape fox endangered?

The cape fox is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the cape fox classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderCarnivora
  5. familyCanidae
  6. genusVulpes
  7. SpeciesVulpes chama (A. Smith, 1833)

Synonyms Canis chama

Other names and names in other languages (48)
  • AsseEnglish
  • Cama foxEnglish
  • Silver foxEnglish
  • Silver foxEnglish
  • Silver jackalEnglish
  • Silver jackalEnglish
  • Silver-backed foxEnglish
  • VlakvosAfrikaans
  • DraaijakkalsAfrikaans
  • DraaivosAfrikaans
  • SilwerjakkalsAfrikaans
  • SilwervosAfrikaans
  • ثعلب فضيArabic
  • ثعلب رأس الرجاء الصالحArabic
  • Rabosa d’o CaboAragonese
  • Паўднёваафрыканская лісіцаBelarusian
  • liška chamaCzech
  • KamaDanish
  • KapfuchsGerman
  • Chama-FuchsGerman
  • KamafuchsGerman
  • SilberrückenfuchsGerman
  • SilberschakalGerman
  • Αλεπού του ΑκρωτηρίουGreek
  • Zorro ChamaSpanish
  • Zorro del CaboSpanish
  • Kapi rebaneEstonian
  • eteläafrikankettuFinnish
  • Renard du CapFrench
  • Le renard du CapFrench
  • שועל הכףHebrew
  • ezüsthátú rókaHungarian
  • Հարավաֆրիկյան աղվեսArmenian
  • Volpe Del CapoItalian
  • ケープギツネJapanese
  • 케이프여우Korean
  • Afganistano lapėLithuanian
  • KapprevNorwegian Bokmål
  • SølvryggrevNorwegian Bokmål
  • Kaapse VosDutch
  • Lis przylądkowyPolish
  • Raposa-do-caboPortuguese
  • Южноафриканская лисицаRussian
  • Güney Afrka tilkisiTurkish
  • Güney Afrika tilkisiTurkish
  • leSieTswana
  • mMayaneTswana
  • Лисиця південноафриканськаUkrainian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the cape fox

Other species in the same genus Vulpes.

LC, Least Concern
Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red fox

Vulpes vulpes

Canidae

LC, Least Concern
Bengal fox (Vulpes bengalensis)

Bengal fox

Vulpes bengalensis

Canidae

CompareCape fox vs Red foxCape fox vs Fennec foxCape fox vs Corsac foxCape fox vs Bengal fox

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the cape fox?

The cape fox is a mammal in the family Canidae and the order Carnivora. It belongs to the genus Vulpes.

How heavy is a cape fox?

An adult Cape fox weighs 2.96 kg, with the highest value reported at 3.46 kg. It falls in the medium size class.

What does the cape fox eat?

The cape fox is a carnivore. It is terrestrial and nocturnal.

Is the cape fox endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List classes the cape fox as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

How long does a cape fox live?

The cape fox has a lifespan of 10 years, with the highest value reported at 10.65 years.

How many young does a cape fox have?

A cape fox litter averages 2.9 young, after a gestation period of 51 to 53 days.

What other names does the cape fox have?

Other English names are Asse, Cama fox, Silver fox, Silver jackal and Silver-backed fox.

Who named the cape fox?

The scientific name Vulpes chama is credited to (A. Smith, 1833).

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cape fox (Vulpes chama). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-fox

MLA

“Cape fox (Vulpes chama).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-fox.

BibTeX
@misc{cape_fox_2026,
  title = {Cape fox (Vulpes chama)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-fox},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}