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CLASS: Mammalia

ORDER: Carnivora

FAMILY: Canidae

GENUS & SPECIES: Vulpes (Fennecus) zerda

CLASSIFICATION:

These furry little mammals are the smallest of all canines (canis is Latin for "dog"). Fanak is the Arabic word for "fox." No positive etiology could be found for zerda but it would seem to extend from the Greek xeros, which means "dry." The 'x' is often transliterated to a 'z' when the zzzzz sound is preferred.

The "desert fox" is an appropriate name for this little fellow. Vulpes is Latin for "fox" and is the genus name for the "true foxes." There are some that would call the fennec related to bat-eared foxes, because of its large ears, weak dentition and round pupils, and would keep it in its own genus. Others consider the fennec convergent with the American kit fox and would put it with the swift fox group in the genus Vulpes.

RANGE:

Northern Africa, across the Sahara, the Sinai Peninsula and Arabia.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

Height: 8 inches

Length: 24 to 40 cm + tail, about 25 cm [ears 15 cm long]

Weight: - 0.8 to 1.5 kilograms (3-3 ½ pounds maximum)


Very large ears on a very diminutive head and a sharp, tiny muzzle give this little dog a very distinctive look. Typical of a fox, the fennec has a very bushy tail and thick, luxurious fur. Carnassial teeth are small.

Coloration: Cream to sandy yellow with white "edges" and some black ticking, the fennec blends with the desert sand. The tail is lightly black tipped and the vibrissae (whiskers) are quite long and black. The eyes are very dark and little rhinal pad is black.

DIET:

Zoo: prepared canine diet, plus occasional freshly killed mice or chicks and some fruit.

Wild: Large insects like beetles and locusts, small rodents, lizards and occasionally birds; some plant material, when available, like berries and succulent leaves.

BEHAVIOR:

Fennecs den, burrowing under rock piles and the roots of brush. The burrow usually has several entrances. The burrow serves as shelter from weather and enemies. A number of foxes may live together in what becomes an extensive tunnel system. Recent studies with red foxes gives a hint about this behavior. Radio collars and night scopes have revealed that the "solitary" fox isn't. Males actually have a small harem of several related females and their juvenile pups. Since fennecs are known to live in groups, their social system is very likely the same as the red foxes (one of the reasons fennecs are considered vulpine foxes).

These desert foxes are nocturnal, spending the heat of the day in the cool recesses of the burrow. They exit after nightfall to hunt. Fennecs sometimes use the stalk-spring-pounce method of prey capture so often used by red foxes. They also cache food for future use and seem to remember every cache site.

Typical of all foxes, fennecs are very agile. They can jump straight up as much as 2 feet and can make a horizontal leap of 4 feet from a standing position, remarkable for its small size. Such feats are useful in both escape and prey capture. Pups have been observed bouncing, in play, like little balls.

Fennecs, like all foxes, mark territory with fecal piles and urine, dominant individuals urinating more than subordinates. There is a gland on the dorsal tail that is surrounded with black bristles and is of unknown function. It is not rubbed on sign-posts or used in any other obvious way. It may well serve in individual recognition and social bonding. Vocalizations are many and varied.