The swift fox (called Nóouhàh-Toka’na by the Aaniiih and Nakoda tribes) once roamed the western plains from Texas to Canada, eating small rodents and insects. But its numbers dwindled as settlers arrived, plowing the prairies and placing poisoned bait for canine predators. In the 1980s, conservationists began reintroducing foxes to the Blackfeet and Fort Peck Indian Reservations in Montana, but the animals never connected with southern populations.
Now, Aaniiih and Nakoda tribe members are working with biologists to reintroduce 30 to 40 swift foxes annually to the Fort Belknap Reservation for five years. “The hope is that the foxes will continue to expand into their former habitat and eventually connect the two separate populations,” says filmmaker Roshan Patel. Based on observations and genetic information from fecal samples, scientists believe the foxes are creating new dens, finding mates, and successfully raising offspring.
Patel was drawn to the story because of the tribe’s connection to the swift fox, which they see as a missing puzzle piece in the larger ecosystem of the plains. “It wasn’t just a story about scientific arguments. It was a human connection that drove the whole effort to bring the fox back to Fort Belknap,” he says. “I hope viewers will recognize the importance of community in conservation efforts.”
About the filmmaker: Roshan Patel is an award-winning wildlife and conservation filmmaker whose work often focuses on the relationships between communities and wildlife. Roshan holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in science and natural history filmmaking. He is currently a resident filmmaker and photographer at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C.
About the competition: Now in its 11th season, the Yale Environment 360 Film Contest honors the year’s best environmental documentaries and aims to recognize previously unseen work. This year, 714 entries were submitted from 91 countries across six continents, and included Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Colbert, Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Thomas Lennon, e360‘s editor-in-chief Roger Cohn.
