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The second-most common wild canid in Uttar Pradesh's (UP) croplands is the lovely Indian Fox, the commonest being the Jackal. My friend Abi Tamim who has studied foxes in south India tells me that they prefer grasslands and suchlike habitat there, though they do occur in small numbers in croplands. My sightings of foxes in UP have been very few to make any assessment of the population except that they appears to be widespread.
Unfortunately the Indian Fox faces a number of problems in UP - dogs chase them down, crows attack individuals that are foraging in areas without vegetation cover (middle photo), roadkilled foxes are unfortunately commonly encountered on most well-maintained roads (bottom photo). Despite all this, successful breeding appears to be widespread evidenced by the pups-of-the-year (top photo) Hardly the area you would think ideal for a "carnivore" - but there you are!
This is another lovely animal worthy of study in UP's crop-infested areas - how do they survive in this far-from-being-wild place? Fox sightings have been a real bonus and well worth getting up really early to get to transect points before dawn! All these photos have been taken at or before dawn.
Thanks are due to Abi for recognizing the pup-of-the-year (overall gangly appearance; black on tail not as developed as in adults) and for various discussions on this amazing species he has studied for several years.
(Photo details: Top - pup-of-the-year in Barabanki district, May 17, 2009; middle - adult male being chased by crow in Ghazipur district, Apr 23, 2009; bottom - adult male Fox roadkill in Sultanpur district, May 04, 2009)
Two canids are commonly seen in Uttar Pradesh's croplands - the Jackal and the Fox - and the third, the Wolf, is rather rare. Here, the Jackal is captured in a common crop - wheat (top and middle photo), and in the not-so-common amaranth. Jackals in Uttar Pradesh are run down by dogs all the time - one ran into the side of my jeep when it was being chased by village dogs, picked itself up, and disappeared into the wheat. Roadkills due to traffic are common on roads - I will spare you gory pictures of one here, and show you one later of the Indian Fox.
The Jackal appears to be doing quite alright in the cropped areas of UP - how this can be given the growing number of dogs, the lack of natural habitat, and apparent low amount of food is a mystery worth exploring.
(Photo details: Top - Jackal beside ripening wheat in Aligarh district, Mar 26, 2009; middle - Jackal hiding from dogs in growing wheat in Etah district, Jan 12, 2009; bottom - Jackal in red gram fields in Barabanki district, Nov 21, 2008.)
Two species that are revered by farmers in Uttar Pradesh are the Nilgai (literal translation: "Blue Cow") and the Sarus Crane. Hunting of the Nilgai is strictly disallowed locally owing to the reference of a cow in its name. Currently, despite it being possibly the biggest crop pest, excellent populations of the large antelope proliferate all over Uttar Pradesh. The Sarus Crane is venerated for its life-long pair bond. Here , a Nilgai cow, her calf, a Sarus adult (right extreme) and a 7-8 month-old chick stare at me, disturbed from their feeding in a dried wetland in Barabanki district. (Photograph date: May 16, 2009)
