Fennec Fox

Maximum longevity: 16.3 years (captivity)

Fennecs once ranged broadly over northern Africa, but sport hunting and intrusion by humans are shrinking their habitat and increasing their scarcity. The IUCN Red List cites fennecs as Data deficient. CITES places fennecs in Appendix II in Austria, and Appendix III in Denmark and Tunisia.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: appendix ii; appendix iii

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Little is known about what animals prey on fennecs, though it seems safe to assume that some do. Fennec dens are designed for quick escape, and the sand-colored fur which aids stalking of prey may also help them evade detection by larger, fiercer animals. Excellent hearing surely allows V. zerda to locate and avoid predators.

Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic

Fennecs are the smallest of the canids. They range in size from 0.8 kg in vixens to 1.5 kg in males. They are smaller than an average house cat. Tail length is between 18 and 30 cm, and accounts for nearly 60 percent of the 30 to 40 cm body length. Standing 18 to 22 cm at the shoulder, fennecs are significantly shorter than other African foxes, which average a shoulder height of 30 cm. Not enough is known about fennecs to state conclusively whether they are sexually dimorphic. The family Canidae, however, exhibits the limited sexual dimorphism common in groups of mostly monogamous species. Since V. zerda is monogamous, it is reasonable to assume this species follows the pattern of slight sexual dimorphism.

The ears of fennecs are perhaps their most distinctive feature. Massive in proportion to the skull, the large, 15 cm long pinnae are used both to dissipate heat and to locate prey moving under the sand. Enlarged auditory bullae also serve this latter purpose. Fur in adults is thick and silky, buff-colored on the dorsal surface and white along the animal’s legs, face, ear-linings and underside. In contrast, juveniles are downy and almost exclusively white. The fur over the violet gland - found in all foxes, and of unknown function - is black or dark brown. This is also the color of the fur on the tip of the tail. The feet are heavily furred, protecting the pads from the hot desert sand. The eyes, rhinal pad, and vibrissae of fennecs are all black. Dentition is weak, similar to that in bat-eared foxes.

Range mass: 0.8 to 1.5 kg.

Average mass: 1.5 kg.

Range length: 30 to 40 cm.

Average length: 30 cm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: male larger

Average basal metabolic rate: 2.693 W.

Fennecs can live for up to 10 years in the wild, a common lifespan among African foxes. Captive fennecs may survive for up to 12 years.

Range lifespan
Status: wild: 10 (high) years.

Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 12 (high) years.

Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 10 (high) years.

Typical lifespan
Status: captivity: 12 (high) years.

Fennecs are highly specialized to desert life and found almost exclusively in arid, sandy regions. The presence of desert grasses and/or light scrub vegetation is important, as fennecs use these plants to bolster, shelter, and line their dens. Fennecs are so well adapted to their Saharan climate that they need not drink. In times of need, however, nearby vegetation is a handy source of water and may be eaten.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune

The largest populations of Vulpes zerda occur in the central Sahara, though the species can be found in mountainous and desert regions from northern Morocco (roughly 35 degrees N latitude), east along the northern tip of the Red Sea to Kuwait, and south into northern Nigeria and Chad (15 degrees N latitude).

Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); ethiopian (Native )

Fennecs have small carnassial teeth. They obtain much of their food through digging, and, as omnivores in a desert environment, will consume almost anything that makes itself available. Small rodents, lizards, birds, eggs, and insects are all common prey. Fruit, leaves and roots are an important part of the diet of V. zerda, as they provide almost 100 percent of the animal’s hydration. Fennecs can go indefinitely without free water, and are known to cache extra food.

Animal Foods: birds; mammals; reptiles; eggs; carrion ; insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods

Plant Foods: leaves; roots and tubers; fruit

Foraging Behavior: stores or caches food

Primary Diet: omnivore

Fennecs are predators, reducing the number of small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and other terrestrial invertebrates found within their home territories. They may strip the leaves off scrub vegetation, but there is no evidence that this behavior causes permanent damage to the plants.

Fennecs are distributed to zoos and as personal pets.

Positive Impacts: pet trade

Fennecs do not have any known negative impact on humans, and why native peoples of the Sahara are hunting them into decline remains unclear.

Vulpes zerda perceives its environment primarily through highly developed senses of hearing and smell. The enormous ears are able to filter sound through many centimeters of sand, and can detect subtle differences between whines and whimpers in the calls of other fennecs. Night vision is enhanced by a reflective retina called a tapetum. This adaptation creates the illusion of glowing eyes and is characteristic of nocturnal animals.

Social rank among fennecs is communicated mainly through play. As social animals, they use visual and tactile communication.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Other Communication Modes: pheromones ; scent marks

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Interestingly, fennecs raised in the lab often dig or attempt to dig within their cages - evidence that this behavior is intuitive, rather than learned.

Little is known about how fennecs attract or defend their mates, though reproductive opportunity may be affected by social position. It is possible that only dominant males pair with females. The breeding season runs from January to February, but vixens remain in estrus for only a few days. Fennecs mate for life. This monogamous pairing leads to a social structure in which each breeding couple (or family- fennec parents often enlist the aid of older siblings in caring for offspring) have their own territory. This territory is bounded by urine and piles of fecal matter. Fennecs are vigorous defenders of both territory and pups.

Mating System: monogamous ; cooperative breeder

The breeding season of V. zerda begins in mid winter (January to February), and pups are born after a gestation period of 50 to 53 days. 50 days is the average gestation. Fennecs have a slow reproductive rate, and vixens give birth only once yearly. Their litters are relatively small, usually containing only 2 to 4 altricial pups (although 5 and even 6 are not entirely uncommon). At birth, the blind and helpless offspring weigh 50 g. Their mother attends them in the den for the first 2 weeks, until their eyes open. At 4 weeks the pups begin to play within the den. At 5 weeks play extends to the area just outside the den entrance. The pups of V. zerda suckle longer than those of most foxes, and weaning may not occur until nearly 3 months of age. Young may be licked, carried, and closely watched for up to 70 days. Sexual maturity comes with the attainment of adult size at 6 to 9 months of age.

Breeding interval: Fennecs breed once yearly

Breeding season: Breeding occurs in January and February.

Range number of offspring: 1 to 6.

Average number of offspring: 3.

Range gestation period: 50 to 53 days.

Average gestation period: 50 days.

Range weaning age: 30 to 90 days.

Range time to independence: 6 to 9 months.

Average time to independence: 6 months.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 6 to 9 months.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 6 months.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 6 to 9 months.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 6 months.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous

Average birth mass: 26.28 g.

Average number of offspring: 2.2.

The low birth rate and slow reproductive recovery of declining fennec populations means that fennec parents have a high reproductive investment in their altricial pups. Vixens give continuous care for the two weeks following birth. Father and mother work together during the prolonged rearing of the young. Males bring food to the family and watch for dangers to playing pups. Fennecs are very aggressive in the defense of their young, and added protection for the pups may be a reason to maintain community structure. Though weaned at as early as one month, fennec offspring require care and supervison for a much longer period. Full independence is not attained until roughly 6 months of age.

Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); post-independence association with parents; extended period of juvenile learning

The small fennec fox is perfectly adapted to life in the harsh deserts of Africa, where daytime temperatures are record breaking, and freezing temperatures at night are not uncommon. The soles of the feet are covered by long, soft hairs that protect the feet from extreme temperatures, and help the fox walk on loose sand (2). Their large ears act like radiators and dissipate heat (5), as well as providing excellent hearing with which to detect prey (2). The fennec fox can subsist without water for an indefinite period, and survives by obtaining moisture through their food, and conserving water by remaining in burrows during the hot days and venturing out only at night. The thick, woolly fur helps insulate the fox against the cold, desert nights (2). The fennec fox starts to tremble with cold when temperatures drop below 20 degrees Celsius, but incredibly, they only start to pant when temperatures exceed 35 degrees Celsius. When they do pant, their breathing rate rockets from 23 breaths per minute up to an astonishing 690 breaths per minute (4). Fennec foxes are monogamous, and the pair lives with their offspring in a family unit of up to ten individuals (2). Fennec foxes mate in January and February and females give birth in March and April (5). Usually a litter of two to five cubs are born every year, after a gestation period of around 50 days. The male provides food and defends the burrow (which can be up to ten meters in length) until the cubs are four weeks old. They are weaned at 61 to 70 days and reach adult size and sexual maturity after only 9 to 11 months (2). In captivity, the fennec fox has been known to live for almost 13 years (2). Fennec foxes feed primarily on grasshoppers and locusts, but also eat other insects, rodents, birds, lizards and roots. They hunt alone and locate prey primarily by sound, killing their target with a bite to the neck (2).

The fennec fox is listed on Appendix II of the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means that international trade in this species should be carefully regulated (3). Its conservation status has not yet been assessed as it was deemed that there was too little information to determine its risk of extinction (1). The fennec fox is legally protected in Morocco (5), and occurs in a number of protected areas throughout its range, such as Bir El Abd Conservation Area in Egypt, and Aïr and Tenere National Reserve in Niger (5). Fennec foxes have been bred in captivity, which has increased knowledge of this species, and yet much remains unknown of their behaviour and ecology in the wild. Further studies on wild populations are needed to enable the conservation status of the fennec fox to be assessed (1) (5).

Weighing around only one kilogram, the fennec is the smallest of all foxes (4). It is easily recognised by its massive ears, which are about ten centimetres in length, its large, black eyes and small muzzle (2). The fur of the fennec fox is long, soft and sandy coloured, providing excellent camouflage in their desert habitat (2). The face is lighter with a dark streak that extends from the inner eye down and outward to either side of the muzzle (5). The thick, bushy tail is a little more reddish, with a black tip and a black patch near the base (2). The slender legs of the fennec fox in North Africa are reddish sand, whereas foxes from further south have almost white legs (2).

The fennec fox inhabits sandy deserts and semi-deserts, preferring stable sand dunes, in which it can burrow (2) (5).

Occurs in northern Africa to northern Sinai; in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, and Tunisia (5).

Classified as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN Red List (1), and listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).

Dogs and humans are thought to pose the greatest threat to the fennec fox (2). In northern Africa the fennec fox is hunted and trapped, and sold commercially. They are captured for the pet trade, sold to locals to be raised for meat, or killed for their fur which is used by the indigenous people of northern Africa (5). They are also killed by domestic dogs (2). These threats have resulted in a decline in numbers in certain populations in north-western Africa (2), and new permanent human settlements, such as those in southern Morocco, have resulted in the disappearance of fennec foxes from those areas (4).

The fennec's name comes from the Arabic fanak, meaning fox; the species name zerda comes from the Greek xeros, meaning dry, due to the fox's habitat (Wikipedia). Scientists note re are similarities and differences between the fennec and other fox species, including physical and social traits. Vulpes zerda implies that the fennec is a true fox and Fennecus zerda implies that the fennec belongs to its own genus (Wikipedia). The fennec lacks the musk glands of other fox species and has only 32 chromosome pairs, while other fox species have between 35-39 (Wikipedia). The species also displays behaviours uncharacteristic of foxes, such as living in packs while most other fox species are solitary (Wikipedia).

The fennec is adapted to live in harsh, arid sandy deserts and semi-deserts and mountainous regions in northern Africa to northern Sinai; in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia. References to fennec sightings in the United Arab Emirates were based on a Ruppell's fox in the Al Ain zoo (IUCN, Wikipedia); there are no confirmed records of the species in the Arabian Peninsula, but the fennec may occur to north Sahelian areas in the south (IUCN). The fennec prefers stable sand dunes, where it can burrow (ARKive, IUCN), but also lives in very sparsely vegetated sand dunes near the Atlantic coast (IUCN). It uses desert grasses and/or light scrub vegetation to bolster, shelter and line its dens.

The fennec is the smallest fox and weighs about 0.68–1.59 kg; vixens weigh about 0.8 kg and males weigh about 1.5 kg. It is 24-41 cm long with an 18-31 cm tail; it stands 18-22 cm tall at the shoulder. Its coat, ears, and kidney functions have adapted to high-temperature, low-water deserts with high daytime temperatures and freezing temperatures at night (Wikipedia). Long, soft hairs cover the soles of the feet, protecting the feet from extreme temperatures and helping the fox walk on loose sand (ARKive, AskNature). The fennec perceives its environment primarily through highly developed senses of hearing and smell (Animal Diversity Web). The massive ears are the largest among foxes relative to body size and serve to dissipate heat, as they have many blood vessels close to the skin (Wikipedia). The ears are sensitive enough to hear prey that may be underground; the soles of its feet are protected from the hot desert sand by thick fur. Information on fennec fox social behavior is mainly based on captive animals. They are about 10-15 cm long and act like radiators and dissipate hea, as they have many blood veseks t (Animal Diversity Web, ARKive, Wikipedia), as well as providing excellent hearing to detect prey moving under many centimtres of sand; the enlarged auditory bullae also serve this latter purpose (Animal Diversity Web). The ears can detect subtle differences between whines and whimpers in the calls of other fennecs and helps the fox to locate and avoid predators (Animal Diversity Web). The fennec has large, black eyes and the reflective tapetum layer in the retina enhances night vision and creates the illusion of glowing eyes. The small muzzle has a black rhinal pad and black whiskers. The coat is often a cream colour and fluffy, which . The long, soft, silky or fluffy, sandy, cream or buff coloured fur provides excellent camouflage in the desert, aiding stalking of prey and detection by predators; the coat colour deflects heat by day and keeps the fox warm at night (Wikipedia). The face is lighter with a dark streak extending from the inner eye down and outward to either side of the muzzle. The thick, bushy tail is redder, with a blackor dark brown tip and a black patch near the base. The slender legs of the fennec in North Africa are reddish sand, while foxes further south have almost white legs. The is white along the legs, face, ear-linings and underside. Juveniles are downy and almost exclusively white. The fur over the violet gland is black or dark brown. Dentition is weak, similar to that in bat-eared foxes; the carnassials are small (Animal Diversity Web).

The fennec can subsist without free water for an indefinite period, surviving by obtaining moisture through its food and conserving water by remaining in burrows during hot days and venturing out only at night (Animal Diversity Web, Wikipedia). Its kidneys are adapted to restrict water loss, while burrowing can cause the formation of dew (Wikipedia). It will drink water if available or eat vegetation as a handy source of water (Animal Diversity Web, Wikipedia). The thick, woolly fur helps insulate the fox against cold, desert nights. The fennec starts to tremble with cold when temperatures drop below 20 degrees Celsius, but only starts to pant when temperatures exceed 35 degrees Celsius. When it pants, its breathing rate rockets from 23 breaths a minute to 690 breaths a minute (ARKive). Fennec dens are designed for quick escape (Animal Divrsity Web). The fennec can jump up to 61 cm high and 120 cm forward to catch prey and escape predators (Wikipedia).

The fennec hunts alone and locates prey mainly by using its sensitive hearing to hear prey moving underground. It can seem to stare at the ground while it rotates its head from side to side to pinpoint the location of prey, underground or hidden above ground (Wikipedia). It obtains most of their food by digging and consumes any food available. It mainly eats grasshoppers, locusts and other insects, as well as rodents, rabbits and other small mammals, birds, eggs and lizards. It kills with a bite to the neck (ARKive). It also eats fruit, leaves and roots; it strips leaves off scrub vegetation. Vegetation provides almost 100% of the fox's hydration (Animal Diversity Web). There are reports that fennec foxes climb date palms while foraging for fruit; some experts consider this unlikely unless low branches are available for support (Wikipedia). Fennecs cache extra food (Animal Diversity Web). The main predators are eagle owls and possibly caracals, jackals, striped hyenas and the saluki, although fennecs are hard to capture (Wikipedia).

The fennec is monogamous; a pair mates for life (Wikipedia). Each pair or family controls its own territory (Wikipedia). The basic social unit of up to 10 individuals is thought to be a mated pair and their young; the young of the previous year are thought to stay remain in the family even after a new litter is born (Animal Diversity Web, ARKive, Wikipedia). Playing behaviour is common, including among adults (Animal Diversity Web, ARKive). Fennecs make various contact sounds, including barking, a purring sound similar to that of a domestic cat and a snarl if threatened. Captive animals engage in highly social behavior, typically resting with each other. In this social structure, each breeding couple (or family, as parents often enlist the aid of older siblings to care for cubs) has its own territory, bounded by urine and piles of faecal matter. Fennecs vigorously defenders of both territory and pups. Social rank is communicated mainly through play and via visual and tactile communication. Fennecs also comunicate via sound and via pheromones and scent marks (Animal Diversity Web). Families dig out dens in sand for habitation and protection, which can be 120 m2 and adjoin the dens of other families (Wikipedia). A typical den is dug in sand in open areas or places sheltered by plants with stable sand dunes. In compacted soils, dens can be up to 120 square metres, with up to 15 different entrances (Wikipedia). In some cases different families interconnect their dens, or locate them close together (Wikipedia). In soft, looser sand, dens tend to be simpler with only one entrance leading to a single chamber (Wikipedia).

Reproductive opportunity may be affected by social position, so that only dominant males pair with females (Animal Diversity Web). Males tend to show more aggression and urine-marking around the time of the females' estrous cycle. They have been seen to bury feces by pushing soil with their noses or hind feet when in captivity. Fennecs mate in January and February (Animal Diversity Web). The copulation tie lasts up to two hours and 45 minutes. Following mating, the male becomes very aggressive and protective of the female, providing her with food during her pregnancy and lactation periods (Wikipedia). Vixens stay in oestrus for a few days and give birth to 1-6 altricial cubs once a year in March and April, after a gestation period of 50-53 days (Animal Diversity Web, ARKive, Wikipedia), but up to 62-63 days in captivity (Wikipedia). Births can occur from March-July or year round in captivity (Wikipedia). The blind, helpless cubs weigh 26-50 g (Animal Diversity Web). The ears are folded over and the eyes are closed; the eyes open at around 10 days and the ears lift soon afterward (Wikipedia). The mother attends them in the den for the first 2 weeks, until their eyes open (Animal Diversity Web). The male provides food to the family and defends the burrow, which can be up to 10 metres long, until the cubs are four weeks old, when they begin to play within the den (Animal Diversity Web). At 5 weeks old, the cubs also play just outside the den entrance and the father watches for danger to playing cubs (Animal Diversity Web). Fennecs are very aggressive in defending their young; added protection for the cubs may be a reason to maintain community structure (Animal Divrsity Web). The cubs are weaned at 30-90 days and may be licked, carried and closely watched for up to 70 day (Animal Diversity Web) and become independent at 6 month, although they still associate with their parents (Animal Diversity Web). The cubs reach adult size and sexual maturity after 6-11 months (Animal Diversity Web, ARKive, Wikipedia). Fennecs can live up to 10 years in the wild and 16.3 years in captivity (AnAge, Animal Diversity Web, ARKive).

The fennec is listed as Least Concern and as a CITES Appendix II species. It is relatively widespread and common throughout the Sahara; no known major range-wide threats are believed to result in a population decline that would warrant listing in a threatened category (IUCN, Wikipedia). Sightings indicate that the animal is currently not threatened by extinction, but trade must be controlled to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival (Animal Diversity Web, ARKive, Wikipedia). Dogs and humans probably pose the greatest threat (ARKive). In northern Africa, the fennec is hunted, trapped and sold commercially (ARKive, IUCN, Wikipedia). It is captured for the pet trade and exhibition in zoos, sold to locals to be raised for meat or killed for its fur (Animal Diversity Web, ARKive, IUCN, Wikipedia). Breeders tend to remove the young kits from the mother to hand-rear, as owners prefer tamer and more handleable foxes, making them more expensive; the 'pet' fennec cannot be considered domesticated (Wikipedia). In southern Morocco, the meat is not eaten as it is considered to smell foul (Wikipedia). It is also killed by domestic dogs (ARKive). These threats have resulted in a fall in numbers in some populations in north-western Africa and new permanent human settlements, such as in southern Morocco, have led to fennecs disappearing from those areas (ARKive, IUCN). It is legally protected in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt and occurs in several protected areas throughout its range, such as Bir El Abd Conservation Area in Egypt, and Aïr and Tenere National Reserve in Niger (ARKive, IUCN). The only documented regression concerns northern Moroccan Sahara, where the fennec disappeared in the 1960s from four localities, which were restricted sandy areas near permanent human settlements (IUCN). Fennecs breed in captivity. The fennec is Algeria's national animal and the nickname of its national football team (Wikipedia).

The fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is a small crepuscular fox native to the deserts of North Africa, ranging from Western Sahara and Mauritania to the Sinai Peninsula. 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. Its coat, ears, and kidney functions have adapted to the desert environment with high temperatures and little water. It mainly eats insects, small mammals and birds. The fennec has a life span of up to 14 years in captivity and about 10 years in the wild. 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 (1,300 sq ft) 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.

Its name comes from the species' Arabic name: fanak (فَنَك).