THE FENNEC FOX

ABOUT THE FENNEC FOX

The fennec fox is a small crepuscular fox native to the deserts of North Africa, ranging from Western Sahara and Morocco to the Sinai Peninsula. Its name comes from the species' Arabic name: fanak (فَنَك). Its most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears, which serve to dissipate heat and listen for underground prey. The fennec is the smallest fox species, and by extension, the smallest canid overall.

Its coat, ears, and kidney functions have adapted to the desert environment with high temperatures and little water. It mainly eats insects, smaller mammals and birds. The fennec has a life span of up to 14 years in captivity and about 10 years in the wild, being the fox species with the longest life span. Its main predators are the Verreaux's eagle-owl, jackals and other large mammals. Fennec families dig out burrows in the sand for habitation and protection, which can be as large as 120 m2 and adjoin the burrows of other families.

Precise population figures are not known but are estimated from the frequency of sightings; these indicate that the fennec is currently not threatened by extinction. Knowledge of social interactions is limited to information gathered from captive animals. The fennec's fur is prized by the indigenous peoples of North Africa, and it is considered an exotic pet in some parts of the world.

Reproduction and behavior

Gestation: 50-52 days.
Young per birth: 1-4
Weaning: 61-70 days.
Sexual maturity: 9 months.
Life span: around 10 years, up to 14 in captivity.
Breeding season: Between January and February, but can produce a second litter if the first is lost.

Following mating, males becomes very aggressive and protective of females, providing her with food during her pregnancy and lactation periods. Males play a role in pup rearing. Births occur between March and April. When pups are born, the ears are folded over and the eyes are closed, opening at around 10 days and the ears lifting soon afterward. Their behavior normally consist in groups with the mated pairs and their offspring.

A fennec fox digs its den in sand, either in open areas or places sheltered by plants with stable sand dunes. In compacted soils, dens are up to 120 m2 large, with up to 15 different entrances. In some cases, different families interconnect their dens, or locate them close together. In soft, looser sand, dens tend to be simpler with only one entrance leading to a single chamber.

Captive fennec foxes reach sexual maturity at around nine months and mate between January and April. They usually breed only once per year. The copulation tie lasts up to two hours and 45 minutes. Females give birth between March and June to a litter of one to four pups that open their eyes after 8 to 11 days. Both female and male care for the pups. They communicate by barking, purring, yapping and squeaking. Pups remain in the family even after a new litter is born. The pups are weaned at the age of 61 to 70 days.

Diet and interaction with the environment

Their diet is omnivorous, capturing jerboa, gerbil, and other small rodents, occasionally birds, eggs, lizards, insects, and also some plant material, including melons, dates collected on the ground, tubers and roots, and human garbage. May subsist without water, and tolerate extremely high concentrations of urea in urine.

Their main predators are the African horned owl species such as the Pharaoh eagle-owl. Anecdotal reports exist about caracals, jackals, and striped hyenas also preying on the fennec fox. But according to nomads, the fennec fox is fast and changes directions so well that even their Salukis are hardly ever able to capture it. In North Africa, the fennec fox is commonly trapped for exhibition or sale to tourists. Expansion of permanent human settlements in southern Morocco caused its disappearance in these areas and restricted it to marginal areas.

They are highly social, typically resting while in contact with each other, and may share burrows with up to 12 other individuals, but they hunt singly. Playing behavior is common, including among adults of the species. Burrows are extensive, usually at the base of low hills or dunes where moisture concentrates, keeping their dens cool even in the hottest weather. They have a variety of calls, including barking, a purring sound similar to that of a domestic cat, and a snarl if threatened. Their ears are used to radiate heat from the body. They have hairy soles to protect them from the hot sand. Males mark territory with urine.

The fennec fox has sand-colored fur which reflects sunlight during the day and helps keep it warm at night. Its nose is black. Its tapering tail has a black tip. Its long ears have longitudinal reddish stripes on the back and are so densely haired inside that the external auditory meatus is not visible. The edges of the ears are whitish, but darker on the back. The ear to body ratio is the greatest in the canid family and likely helps in dissipating heat and locating vertebrates. It has dark streaks running from the inner eye to either side of the slender muzzle. Its large eyes are dark. The pads of its paws are covered with dense fur, which facilitates walking on hot, sandy soil.

Habitat

They're native to: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara, and probably in Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Widespread in Northern Africa, ranging from Western Sahara and Mauritania to Northern Sinai. Its occurrence on the Arabian Peninsula is unclear because of confusion with the young of the Arabian subspecies of Rüppell’s Fox.

Their habitat consists in arid desert environments. Stable sand dunes are the ideal habitat, although they also live in very sparsely vegetated sand dunes near the Atlantic coast. Ability to burrow in sandier substrates than other Canids provides them with a competitive advantage in dune systems. Their conservation status is Least Concern. Regional status: Legally protected in Morocco, Algeria (is even considered the national animal of the country), Tunisia and Egypt. Common throughout the Sahara. Construction of roads and new human settlements is increasing the disturbance and risk to some populations. It is commonly trapped and sold commercially in Northern Africa for exhibition or sale to tourists.