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.

Pelage colour is silvery-gray, tawny at the back of the ears, with white hairs appearing around the side of the pinna in the center.

[5] The tail is dense and bushy, and can be silvery, pale fawn, buff with brown or black tips, or dull yellow.

[12] Other food items include: gerbils; field mice and other small rodents, hares, birds; bird nestlings and eggs, diverse vegetable material, including wild fruit, berries, seeds, roots, and tubers; lizards, insects, such as white ants, beetles and their larvae, and locusts.

[6] They may also consume larger mammals like steenbok (Raphicerus campestris) and other carnivores such as the yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata).

[11][12] Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) may comprise as much as 16.6% volume of its stomach content, but it appears to prey only on very young lambs (less than 3 months old), otherwise they can only consume it as carrion.

[14] The Cape fox can be hunted by lions (Panthera leo) and its young may be killed by the honey badger (Mellivora capensis).

[4][11] Paired adults typically only have contact during the mating season,[4] but mouth sniffing or nuzzling ("greeting") occurs, as does body slamming.

Cape foxes are fully grown within about a year, with both the female and the male reaching sexual maturity at 9 months.

[14] Habitat loss does not appear to be a major factor influencing the conservation status of the Cape fox; in some regions, changing agricultural practices have resulted in range extensions for this species.

They are targeted by various control methods, such as leg-hold traps and the illegal but widespread use of agricultural poisons on commercial farms.

[15] These control measures do not seem to have had a major impact on populations of the Cape fox, even though they have resulted in declines in some areas.

[1] They also often succumb to diseases such as rabies and canine distemper, and a large number of Cape foxes are killed on the road by vehicles.