Endangered Animal: Darwin’s Fox
Prompt: Choose an endangered animal and do some research on it and how it lives in, and depends on, its ecosystem. Design, then construct your animal using recycled materials.
Common Name: Darwin’s Fox
Scientific Name: Lycalopex fulvipes
Type: Mammal
Size: 19 to 23 inch body + 7 to 10 inch tail
On December 6, 1832, while anchored off the coast of Chile’s Chiloé Island, Charles Darwin encountered a small, gray fox sitting near a rocky embankment. This animal seemed like a fox, but was actually quite different. Darwin collected a scientific record of the animal and, in 1837, his colleague Charles Linnaeus Martin officially described the new species as Lycalopex fulvipes. Although Darwin’s Fox was initially believed to be related to the South American Grey Fox, a 1990 genetic analysis clarified the fox’s status as a unique species that is technically not a fox, but still a member of the Canidae family. Darwin’s Fox is endemic to Chile and not found anywhere else in the world. Despite their early classification in 1837, scientists still know very little about them. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently classifies Darwin’s Fox as Endangered. Prior to 2016, they were classified as Critically Endangered. Scientists estimate that there are fewer than 1,000 of them left.
Darwin’s Fox lives in southern temperate rainforests and can only be found in areas of primary forest on Chiloé Island and mainland Chile. They prefer open spaces, however this puts them at risk from feral dogs and people. Feral dogs are considered the biggest risk to the Darwin’s Fox population as they often attack the much smaller animal or pass on deadly diseases. Darwin’s Fox is omnivorous. They hunt for mammals, reptiles, beetles, and invertebrates, as well as fruits and berries.
Design & Construction Process
The first step in my design process was to take inventory of my materials. I organized them into three categories as seen in the photo below. Category 1 consists of stiff/hard cardboard, including two thick boxes and a long pole. Category 2 consists of softer, more malleable cardboard that featured perforations or other textures. Finally, category 3 consists of fabric like material like paper, tissue paper, foam, and bubble wrap.
After categorizing my materials, I decided to build my prototype as close to scale as possible. It was important to me that other people got a sense of how small Darwin’s Fox is compared to them. Thus, I planned to build a 19 inch head/body region and attach a 7 inch tail.
With that in mind, I began sketching.
My first design used a box from category 1 as the body, molded cardboard from category 2 for the neck and head, and paper from category 3 for the tail. However, I realized I could create a more natural body shape if I used a combination of category 1 and category 3 materials as seen below.
I would cut the cardboard pole I had into three 19-inch pieces, tape them together, and use them as the foundation for the body. Then, I would take paper, crumple, and layer it in an oblong shape to give the body natural curves as opposed to the straight edges I would get from just using a box.
Thus, I began constructing the body. I cut up the pole and taped the three pieces together. Then, I decided to wrap them in one layer of paper to further secure them in place. From there, I began building layers of paper on top and taping them down.
I was able to get the shape I wanted, but because it was made primarily out of paper, it felt very flimsy and I was not sure it would hold up the neck and head. So, I used textured cardboard from category 2 to create a shell around the paper. This worked well because the cardboard was scored with vertical lines that made it very easy to roll. In the end, I created a rounded body and the messy paper was nicely hidden under the soft cardboard layer.
From here, I decided to create legs using the same rolled cardboard that encased the body. I made them by cutting out four evenly sized squares and rolling them each into a cylinder. Then, I taped the four cylinders to the underside of the body. At first, I was able to stand the body up on the four legs, but eventually they gave out due to the pressure and were only able to lay horizontally against the body.
After creating the body, I focused on the head and neck. My problem here was that there was no way to securely attach the neck which I rolled using the same material as the legs and body casing. I tried to stuff the neck in with the paper inside of the body and then tape it so that it stood at an angle. However, this failed to work. Ultimately, I decided to cut out the face from hard cardboard (category 1) in a triangular shape to match the chin/head shape of Darwin’s Fox and tape it onto the body. Then, I used foam (category 3) to shape the ears and taped it to the top of the head. Finally, I found two black plastic caps and taped them on as eyes.
I used the same foam material as the ears to craft the tail. I measured out 7 inches worth of the foam and then rolled it together to make it look bushy. Finally, I attached the tail to the inside lining of the body.
As a final step to make the prototype look more cohesive, I used a netted paper I had (category 3) to cover up the entire animal so that it would look like it was made out of one fabric. I thought that the netted texture could be seen as the animal’s fur.
Here is the final product:
Takeaways
Overall, I am very happy with my prototype. I took a lot of inspiration from the materials I collected which made the design and sketching process very straightforward. I was able to start constructing the prototype very quickly. I had to adjust my design along the way because some of my initial ideas did not work out, but it was relatively easy to adapt because I had so much to work with. I think categorizing the materials into three distinct types was very helpful because I could immediately tell what to use for different parts of the model.
