Editing Swift fox (section)

===Reproduction===
Swift foxes are a [[social monogamy in mammalian species|socially monogamous]] species, although multiple breeding strategies have been observed.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1104&context=icwdm_usdanwrc |title=Multiple breeding strategies in the swift fox, ''Vulpes velox''|year=2006|doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.06.015|last1=Kitchen|first1=Ann M.|last2=Gese|first2=Eric M.|last3=Waits|first3=Lisette P.|last4=Karki|first4=Seija M.|last5=Schauster|first5=Edward R.|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=71|issue=5|pages=1029–1038|s2cid=20780520|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The adult swift fox's breeding season varies with region. In the southern United States, it mates between December and February with pups born in March and early April, while in Canada, the [[breeding season]] begins in March, and pups are born in mid-May. The male swift fox matures and may mate at one year, while the female usually waits until her second year before breeding. Adults live in pairs, and although some individuals mate for life, others choose different partners each year. Gestation takes around 51 days, and four to five kits are born.<ref name="DoW"/><ref name="ADW"/>

The swift fox only has one litter annually, but may occupy up to thirteen dens in one year, moving because prey is scarce or because skin [[parasite]]s build up inside the den. Sometimes it makes other burrows from other bigger animals, even though it is completely capable of digging one on its own. Pups are born in the den and typically remain there for approximately one month. A newborn pup's eyes and ears remain closed for ten to fifteen days, leaving it dependent on the mother for food and protection during this time. It is usually weaned around six or seven weeks old and remains with its parents until fall.<ref name="ADW"/> Recent research has shown that social organization in the swift fox is unusual among canids, since it is based on the females.<ref name="AB">{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.08.012 |author1=Kamler, Jan F |author2=Ballard, Warren B. |author3=Gese, Eric M. |author4=Harrison, Robert L. |author5=Karki, Seija |author6=Mote, Kevin |title=Adult male emigration and a female-based social organization in swift foxes, ''Vulpes velox''|journal=Animal Behaviour |volume =67|issue =4|year=2004|pages =699–702 |s2cid=41400769 |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1111&context=icwdm_usdanwrc |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Females maintain [[territory (animal)|territories]] at all times, but males emigrate if the resident female is killed or removed.<ref name="AB"/>