Wild Relatives: The Desert-dwelling Fennec Fox

mmcmahon09
3 days ago
3 min read

Editor’s note: Our Wild Relatives story series will explore the connections between our local wildlife species and related animals from around the globe. By learning about these exotic species, we hope to foster appreciation for the remarkable creatures that live in our backyards and neighborhoods.

Red foxes are often described as clever and sly. Those adjectives may also be appropriate for the fennec fox, but there's another descriptor that may first come to mind: cute.

With large ears that are disproportionate to their size, fennec foxes are often described as cute. However, there’s much more to them than that.

But first, let's address those ears. A fennec fox's ears can be 4 inches to 6 inches tall. That might not seem all that big, but consider that fennec foxes are the smallest foxes in the world. They are only between 9 inches and 16 inches long. That means their ears can be half as long as their bodies. Their tails are quite long too. They can stretch as much as 12 inches.

Fennec foxes typically weigh between 2 pounds and 3 pounds. Compare that to our familiar red foxes, which weigh between 7 and 30 pounds.

Desert dwellers

Their big ears aren't just for hearing. They actually help the foxes stay cool, which is essential in the deserts where they live. Fennec foxes are native to the Sahara Desert in North Africa and other desert climates in the Middle East and Egypt.

How do their big ears help them beat the heat? The large surface area in their ears allows them to release more body heat. This keeps their bodies from overheating.

Words to know

Emerge: To move out of something and come into view.

Pounce: To spring or swoop suddenly to catch prey.

Sly: Having or showing a cunning or deceitful nature.

It's not just their big ears that help them thrive in the intense desert climate where they live. Fennec foxes have the lightest-colored fur of all the fox species. The light color provides camouflage in the sandy desert habitat. Plus they have heavy fur on their paws both to give them traction when running in the sand and to protect their paws from burning on the hot sand.

Even their breathing rate is well adapted to the heat of the desert. As they get hotter, fennec foxes begin to pant to help cool their bodies. Their breathing rate can climb as high as 690 breaths per minute.

Creatures of the night

Another way fennec foxes stay cool is by being active mostly at night. Their nocturnal behavior also helps protect them from predators like hyenas and birds of prey. Even humans are predators for the foxes because they are sometimes hunted for their fur or trapped to be sold as pets.

To stay safe and cool during the day, fennec foxes stay underground in their burrows. Fennec foxes typically live near other foxes. Groups of about 10 foxes creating small communities with their burrows all close to one another. Burrows can be dug as much as 3 feet deep, where it is cooler than at ground level.

When they emerge from their burrows, they are on the hunt. Their large ears are useful for hearing prey under the sand. Once they hone in on something, they pounce, using all four feet to dig into the sand to get it.

Fennec foxes eat insects such as locusts and grasshoppers as well as rodents, lizards, birds and bird eggs. They are skilled hunters and capable of killing prey larger than themselves. They do not exclusively hunt, however. They are omnivores and will also eat fruits, leaves and roots. Eating plant matter helps them stay hydrated because they have little access to water in the desert.

Solo lifestyle

Although fennec foxes often establish their burrows near other foxes, they are considered solitary rather than social. For breeding purposes, the foxes are monogamous, mating with the same partner for life.

Although normally solitary, the male foxes do become aggressive during breeding season. They defend their territory by marking it with urine. Babies, called kits, are usually born in March or April after breeding in January or February.

Kits are born with fur, but they are blind and don't open their eyes for a week or two. They are able to walk when they are about 2 weeks old. In the few weeks after the kits are born, the male foxes will tend to the females, bringing them food. The kits will nurse for a few months, but they remain reliant on their mothers until they are between 9 months and 11 months old.

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