In the hot deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula lives dwarf foxfennec- a charming and touching creature smaller than a domestic cat, with huge ears and expressive eyes, which everyone loves at first sight.

Unfortunately, The fennec fox is an endangered species in nature and is included in the documentary photo project for animal rescue “Photo-Ark”(“The Photo Ark, National Geographic”).

The goal of this project is to document endangered animal species, tell as many people as possible about their unique abilities to survive in harsh natural conditions, and motivate people to make every possible effort to save them.

I hope that this story will convince you that this friendly, cheerful and sweet creature has amazing qualities, and it is simply absolutely impossible to do without it on our planet :)

The fennec got its name from the Arabic word fox (fanak), and the scientific name of this miniature animal is “Vulpes zerda” (Vulpes means belonging to the genus of foxes, zerda comes from the Greek word xeros, meaning “dry” and indicates the fennec’s habitat - the hot deserts of the North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

This animal belongs to the carnivorous order, the canine family, the fox genus, and the fennec species.

There has been much scientific debate as to whether this peculiar animal can be attributed to the genus of foxes, since the fennec fox is very different from them in its structure and behavior.

The fennec fox has 32 pairs of chromosomes (in other fox species it ranges from 35 to 39) and does not have the musk glands characteristic of all foxes.

Foxes lead a solitary lifestyle, while fennec foxes are social animals.

Based on all these differences, some scientists prefer to classify the fennec special genus "Fennecus."

And he really SPECIAL, this elegant animal is smaller than a cat (the body length of the fennec fox is 30-40 cm, the height at the withers is only 18-22 cm), which weighs no more than 1.5 kg.

The first thing that attracts attention is the fennec's huge ears, reaching a length of 15 cm. These are the largest ears among predators in relation to the size of the animal's head.

Ears are extremely important for living in hot desert climates - they are perfect source of thermoregulation, because the blood vessels in the ears are located very close to the skin and allow excess heat to be removed from the body. Besides, ears are huge locators, allowing the fennec to detect the movement of its main prey in the sand - insects and small vertebrates - by the slightest rustle.

Another unique means of adapting the fennec to desert conditions are its feet covered with thick hair, which allow the animal to easily and silently move along the hot sand (and its temperature at midday can exceed 75 degrees, the egg will surely boil!!!).

Thick coat color The fennec cat (fawn-red above, almost white below) has adapted during its evolution to camouflage itself as much as possible against the background of sand.

Young fennecs are very light, almost white, and they are almost lost against the background of the desert landscape.

The fennec fox, like other wild foxes, does not have sweat glands and can go without water for a very long time, obtaining liquid only from meat, berries and leaves. The fennec tree's tiny buds have also adapted to limit water loss.

In deserts, the fennec prefers to stay in sparse bushes or thickets of grass, which provide the animal with shelter and food.

Fenechs usually live in family groups of up to a dozen individuals and dig holes for their homes with many secret passages.

Clans usually consist of one married couple, their immature offspring, and several older children. Sometimes several families settle together in one den.

Fenechs are very sociable and “talkative” animals; they are capable of making many sounds: barking, whining, grumbling and howling.

Fennec foxes are almost omnivorous, they feed on insects and small vertebrates, carrion and bird eggs, and even the fruits and roots of plants. They dig most of their prey from sand and earth.

Like other representatives of the fox family, fennecs prefer to hunt alone, making, if necessary, huge jumps for their tiny size - up to 70 cm in height and up to 120 cm in length.

Fennec cats have well-developed senses of smell, hearing and night vision.

If conditions for hunting are favorable, the fenech stores food for future use.

These fearless, agile and dexterous creatures risk entering into a fight even with a dangerous scorpion.

Fennecs breed once a year. Their mating season takes place in January-February. Pregnancy lasts about 50 days. In March-April, the female gives birth to two to six cubs. Fennec puppies weigh only about 50 grams at birth.

The mother remains with the cubs in the nesting chamber of the den, lined with warm and soft wool, feathers and grass, until two weeks of age, when the babies' eyes open. The fennec father brings food to the family, but does not enter the den, since the female is very aggressive at this time and drives him away from the puppies.

At the age of about 5 weeks, the cubs first leave the den and wander nearby, but only at the age of 3 months do they begin to travel long distances.

The average lifespan of a fennec in nature is 7-8 years, but in good conditions in captivity, animals can live up to 15 years.

The main enemies of fennecs in nature are caracals and desert eagle owls. But people are much more dangerous for fennecs. Fennec foxes are killed for their fur and are also captured and sold as pets.

The exact number of fennecs in nature is not known.

Despite the high cost, everything more people are eager to have this miniature big-eared fox as a pet.

Proper breeding of endangered exotic animals is one of the important ways to preserve species on our planet.

However, this is also a big responsibility! Fragile, flexible and easily tamed, the fennec is not the dog and cat we are used to.

When keeping an exotic pet at home, it is important to create suitable conditions for your exotic pet that are as close to natural as possible, otherwise you will only torment this sweet creature, of which there are only a few left.

What is vital for a fennec cat when kept artificially?

You need to give the animal a spacious enclosure, or better yet, a separate room. without upholstered furniture and valuable objects, otherwise the little fox will gnaw and dig a hole with secret passages in your sofa :) Fenechs tend to dig holes! Everywhere.

It is important to maintain indoors high temperature , since fennecs are very heat-loving and catch cold easily. They must have always dry.

Fennecs are very active and make noise at night. You need to think about it so that the animal does not interfere with your family’s sleep, otherwise it will not cause love, but irritation. It will be your own fault for not organizing its content correctly. Experienced breeders say that if you take a fox cub small, you can gradually transfer it from a nocturnal lifestyle to a day one.

Fenech needs a varied diet of meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and fruits.

Need a competent veterinarian , who would understand exotic animals and their health characteristics. And this, alas, is very rare.

The Fenech needs a lot of toys and objects to chew on.

The animal needs to be walked regularly in a safe place and let them run and exercise in the fresh air, but only in warm summers.

Fenechs are very gentle and timid animals; they absolutely cannot stand rough treatment, screams and scandals.

For 12 years, Geo magazine reporter Uwe Georg lived at home in Hamburg with a fennec fennec brought from the Sahara, which was given to the journalist by nomads in exchange for a bag of sugar. The fox was kept in a separate spacious room filled with stones and sand brought from the Sahara!

The most famous fennec in literature is the well-known fox in Antoine de Saint-Exupery's fairy tale for adults, The Little Prince. Remember: “We are responsible for those we have tamed”? Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was inspired to create this character after encountering a live fennec cat in the Sahara in 1935.

The fennec is especially revered in Algeria, where it is the national animal. The Algerian national football team is nicknamed "Les Fennecs" (Fennecs or Desert Foxes). In addition, the fennec is depicted on the Algerian ¼ dinar coin.

Fenech is a symbol of Tunisia's ecology. Figures of this animal in a blue and white suit are ubiquitous in almost every city in this country.

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It is small in size and very mobile. Scientists still cannot come to a consensus on which order the fennec belongs to in the hierarchy of animals.

There are two versions: dry foxes or a separate species of Fennecus, which is distinguished not only by its specific appearance and body structure, but also by social characteristics. While scientists are arguing, some lovers of domestic exotics are accustoming fennec foxes to life in captivity. Oddly enough, this turned out to be much easier to do than initially expected. Little foxes are not picky eaters and are very affectionate. How does the fenech behave at home and what kind of environment needs to be created for its maintenance - we will tell you all about this in this article.

General information

Desert miniature foxes have their own characteristics. First, they are born

babies are always white, but over time the skin becomes fawn or Secondly, the ears of a fennec fox can reach 15 centimeters with a body length of 30 centimeters. Thirdly, the animals, despite their small size, are very active and jumping: they can jump 70 centimeters in height. This ability helps the fox effectively hunt and catch even

Fennec at home

As mentioned earlier, this animal gets along well in captivity. If you take him home as a child, then be prepared that at first your pet fennecs will need constant attention and even hand-feeding. Later, when the fox gets used to it, it will become more independent and less dependent. What conditions need to be created for the fennec to feel as comfortable as possible at home?

1. Provide a place for the animal. It is better if it is a separate room, even if it is small. You can try to recreate a natural environment for a fennec cat. If it is not possible to allocate a room for the animal, then build a spacious enclosure in which the fox can play.
2. Buy a spacious cage. Even if you have allocated a special place for the animal, you cannot do without it. You will need it in case you leave the animal alone at home.
3. Remove from the floor all things or objects that could be dangerous for the fenech. This is important when you let the animal run around the apartment. Keep in mind that a loose wire or a bag of cereal that has fallen on the floor could become your pet's prey.
4. In winter, fennec cats at home require special care and attention. Keep the animal only in a heated room, otherwise you risk catching a cold and even killing it. Most deaths are associated with hypothermia.

What does fennec fox eat at home?

• live food and small rodents);
• raw meat;
• vegetables;
• fruits.

Sometimes you can add eggs, fish, milk, and kefir to your diet.

So, now you know that the fennec fox feels great at home, but requires maximum care and attention. This information will be useful to you if you decide to purchase such a pet for yourself.

Fox Fenech (lat. Vulpes zerda) is the most unusual and cutest representative of the fox genus. It lives in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. The name of this animal comes from the Arabic word fanak (translated as fox). By the way, fennec has several serious differences from foxes, so scientists even separated it into a separate genus - “Fennecus”. And this animal differs from its relatives in its smaller number of chromosomes, the absence of musk glands and its “sociality”.

Individual characteristics of the fennec cat

Compared to foxes, the fennec seems to be a tiny creature - adult individuals reach a height of only 18-22 cm at the withers, and their weight does not exceed 1.5 kg. Despite such miniature size, the length of the ears of this steppe fox is quite impressive - 15 cm, which is why fennec foxes look very funny. But nature gave these animals such large ears for a reason: firstly, thanks to their “locators”, they perfectly determine the location of their prey - small vertebrates and. And, secondly, the fennec's ears are an excellent source of thermoregulation, because... blood vessels located in the ears allow the animal to remove excess heat from its body, which is vital in the hot desert climate.

Nature has also adapted the fennec's paws to desert conditions - its feet are covered with hair, thanks to which the steppe fox can move painlessly on the hot sand.

The fawn or reddish color of the fennec tree makes it ideal against the backdrop of a desert landscape. But fox cubs are born almost white, and acquire a camouflage color when they become adults.

The fennec cat has no sweat glands, and its kidneys are adapted to a constant lack of water. The animal's body obtains the required amount of fluid from food.

Lifestyle of the steppe fox

Fenechs prefer to stay in thickets of grass and sparse bushes, finding shelter and food there. They live in holes with many secret passages, which they dig themselves. Unlike other species of foxes, these animals live in family groups consisting of, on average, ten individuals.

But fennecs prefer to hunt alone. They are practically omnivores: the main diet consists of insects and small vertebrates, but their menu also includes eggs, carrion, roots and fruits of various plants.

Enemies

The main enemies of the steppe fox in nature are the desert fox and the caracal. However, the greatest danger to fennec cats is people who kill them for their fur. These cute animals are also captured for sale as pets.

Reproduction

The mating season for fennecs takes place once a year and lasts during January-February. The duration of pregnancy in females is about 50 days. At the beginning of spring, fox cubs appear. One female can give birth to from 2 to 6 cubs. At birth, puppies weigh only 50 grams.

The mother does not leave her cubs in the den until they are two weeks old - then they open their eyes. The male brings food to the female, but she does not let him into the hole, zealously protecting her offspring. At 5 weeks of age, babies leave their home for the first time, but do not go far from it. Fox cubs begin to move significantly away from the den only at 3 months.

In natural conditions, fennec lives on average 12 years.

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The fennec fox is most suitable for keeping in captivity, has an exceptional character and is very flexible. Unfortunately, these animals are rare in Russia, and if they appear, they are expensive.

Fennec - pet

This animal can be kept in captivity, where it feels great and actively reproduces. After proper training, fennec cats become affectionate and smart pets. maintaining is not as simple as it might seem at first glance.

Difficulties of keeping a fennec cat at home

• a very large cage or separate room with heating and a sand-filled floor in which the fox will dig holes.
• They have a hard time learning to go to the litter box, and therefore have a very, very strong smell.
• There are few fennec veterinarians.

Fennec foxes are considered easy to keep - they are practically omnivores and can eat insects, small vertebrates, eggs, and plant foods. Due to the characteristics of their habitat, fennec cats can go without drinking for a long time - they extract moisture from food.

Fennec cat nutrition

The natural diet of fennec cats is extensive. Fennec cats feed on eggs, small vertebrates, reptiles, small birds, mammals and insects. The roots, fruits and tubers of plants provide almost 100% of the moisture they need, so this is an important part of the diet. In captivity, chanterelles are usually fed raw meat, live food - locusts, small rodents, lizards, as well as fruits and vegetables. Sometimes you can give dairy products, fish, eggs, grain products. The pet itself will let you know what it likes best.

Who is Fennec?

The desert fennec fox () is a small desert animal native to North Africa. They belong to the canine family, but fennecs are smaller in size than a domestic cat. Scientists zoologists cannot decide and attribute them to the genus of foxes - Vulpes zerda (dry, desert fox) and, at the same time, their colleagues came up with a special genus for fennec foxes - Fennecus, which is distinguished by its social behavior.

Fenechs weigh about 1.5 kg. The most striking feature of the fennec cat is its large ears, which reach 15 cm, with a body length of about 30 cm. The fennec cat needs ears not only for hearing, but also for thermoregulation - the large area of ​​​​the ears and blood vessels cools it in the desert heat. The fur protects the paws from burns from hot sand. Newborn fennec cats They are white in color, and when they grow up they turn red or fawn. The fur of the animals is long and very delicate. Small animals are very jumping - they can jump to a height of up to 70 cm and a distance of up to 1 meter.

Fenechs live in groups, but prefer to hunt alone. They live in burrows with a complex system of passages. Fenechs are excellent diggers and can dig a hole more than 5 m long during the night.

Animals cannot tolerate low temperatures, so their minds need to be kept warm in winter. Their eyes become inflamed from the cold. Colds are very difficult to cure. They often die from it.

The difficulty of taming a fennec depends on the age at which you get it. At first, he will need maximum attention, hand-feeding, contact, and under no circumstances shout or make sudden movements - the fennec fox is a very timid and sensitive animal.

Scientific classification of fennecs

• Kingdom: Animals
• Type: Chordata
• Class: Mammals
• Squad: Carnivores
• Family: Canidae
• Genus: Foxes
• Species: Fennec

Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is a desert fox, a cautious and secretive inhabitant. The animal got its name from the Arabic fenek, which means “fox”. However, not all zoologists classify the fennec fox as a genus of foxes, separating it into a special genus - “Fennecus”. At the same time, such significant differences with foxes as a smaller number of chromosomes, the absence of musk glands and sociality are indicated.

The largest population of these amazing animals inhabits the central Sahara. They are also found from northern Morocco to the Sinai and Arabian Peninsulas, and in the south to Chad, Sudan and Niger.

What does a fennec fox look like?

Fenech is the smallest representative of the fox family. The dimensions of an adult individual, including a long (up to 30 cm) fluffy tail, are no more than 70 cm, height at the withers is 18-20 cm. At the same time, the animal weighs only about one and a half kilograms.

But it is not its size, but its ears that amazes the fennec at the first glance. These disproportionately huge ears (up to 15 cm) on a small head, large shiny eyes and a sharp, thin muzzle, lined with long black mustaches, give the whole fox an extraordinary strange looking. The ears are so mobile, they take on such diverse shapes that with each new position it seems that you see a new animal in front of you. Without his amazing ears, the fennec would probably lose half of his charm. The ears of a miniature fox, which hear the slightest rustle of a bird or insect at a distance, cannot tolerate sharp sounds.

Since the fennec cat does not have sweat glands and cannot breathe intermittently like a dog, it needs to somehow cool its body. And for this purpose the extensive surface of the ears serves. Since the animal does not sweat, it does not give off a drop of precious moisture. Thus, he manages to be content with the liquid contained in the food. But in places where there are watering holes, he drinks like other animals.

Interesting fact: many desert inhabitants have large ears, for example, the sand cat, long-eared hedgehog or black-tailed hare. Disproportionately large ears protect animals from overheating.

All other parts of the Fennec's body are very beautiful and proportional. The animal's thin legs, like those of all desert animals, will stand up for themselves and compete with the fastest animals in running. Even the Egyptian jerboa, despite all its speed, often falls on the sharp teeth of a small predator. And this applies equally to his ability to sneak up and to the speed of his movements. The vast expanses of the desert, as well as the scarcity of its plant and animal life, require good, tireless legs. And such legs are especially needed for predators! They need not only to run around huge spaces each time, but to be able to catch up with their prey. And the fennec's legs give him the opportunity to exist and reproduce in sandy deserts. The fox's feet are covered with fur, which allows it to move silently across the hot sand.

The body, which is quite thick at first glance, is actually very small and light. It appears this way only because of its long, thick, light sand-colored fur. On a light muzzle, black eyes and a nose stand out.

The fennec's tail, no less fluffy than our tail, serves as a good decoration for the entire figurine of the animal.

Lifestyle of a miniature fox in nature

In deserts, the fennec tries to stay in thickets of grass and other low-growing vegetation. He lives in holes. The place for them is chosen where the roots of the plants bind the sandy soil. Here the animal digs long passages in various directions. In the middle of these crossing passages, he makes a lair for himself. The animal loves comfort and warmth and therefore lines its lair with dry herbs, hair and even feathers. In such a hole he is safe from his enemies.

The fennec fox, like most other desert inhabitants, prefers the cool to the heat. He spends the whole day in his nest and only in exceptional cases leaves the hole before dusk. During the scorching heat, it’s stuffy even underground. The dhota from the hot sand penetrates there too. The fennec is impatiently waiting for the dazzling shine of the sun, reflected by millions of sparkles in grains of sand, to be replaced by the same sparkles in the dark blue sky of the south. By night the heat is replaced by coolness, and sometimes very significant. Then, here and there in the silent desert, silent animal life awakens. Foxes peep out of their holes, move their ears, sniff the air, and little by little they lean out of the hole: it’s time to hunt.

How does a fennec fox hunt?

Although desert foxes live in families, they, like their relatives, prefer to hunt alone. During the hunt, the animal completely relies on its hearing, sight and smell. These same feelings serve the Fennec to warn of danger.

Our common fox, the arctic fox or arctic fox, the corsac fox of the steppes of Asia, the gray American fox, the broad-nosed fox of southern Africa - they all have almost the same habits. In most cases, fox hunting comes down to searching for prey by smell and then hiding it.

And the fennec cat’s acute hearing, vision and sense of smell allow him to hunt not only birds, animals, but even insects. His silent, creeping step allows him to catch the most distant, quietest sounds on the move. If some air vibration gets into his ears, they expand towards the noise. The desert fox pauses for a moment and then begins to approach even more cautiously in the direction of the noise. Her eyes pierce the thick darkness of the desert. From a distance she can see a sleeping hazel grouse (steppe pigeon), a lark or even a fat locust. He eats her too. True, with less pleasure than a bird or animal, but still he will not pass by if he hears its rustling. In the desert you have to put up with everything; there is a lot of sand, stones and heat, but not food and drink.

For all the tirelessness of the fennec, for all the acuteness of his feelings, the enormous space over which the rare animal kingdom of the desert is scattered creates great difficulties for the animal. You can drive in the Sahara for hours, whole days, and not see a single bird. And this rarity of the population serves as the best protection against enemies. It is not so easy and not so often that the fenech manages to feast on the hot blood of sandgrouses or larks. But the hazel grouse is a desirable prey for the fennec. If an animal senses with its nose that it has crossed the trail of a hazel grouse, it will immediately sniff out the entire place and follow the subtle scent that remains from this bird’s daytime walk. There is nothing here to distract the attention of this amazing bloodhound! The desert fox will persistently follow the footsteps of the hazel grouse right up to its overnight stay or the place from which it flew away. This kind of failure often happens. But she does not discourage the fennec. It happens that during these searches the wind will carry the scent of sandgrouse sleeping nearby, and then the same animal’s nose will lead straight to the desired prey. By smell, the desert fox not only finds sandgrouse, but even desert larks and common larks. It happens that these small birds also fall on the fennec’s teeth. They are identified not only by their smell, but sometimes also by the noise they make in their sleep when they change position or by an involuntary scream, song, or flapping of wings. Once any noise from the movement of the bird fell into the huge ears of the fennec, the bird died.

Fenech will lower his body to the ground and will slowly, for a long time, sneak towards the noise. From a distance, his eyes will notice somewhere under a bush the tiny figure of a bird, which, unaware of the danger, continues to sleep serenely. The fenech will choose the bush or depression closest to it in order to grab its victim in its teeth in one leap. But he applies this technique of hiding prey to sleeping birds. He hunts jerboas and voles differently. Here he not only hides, but also chases. The Saharan vole and jerboa, like the fennec fox, are nocturnal animals. They also have keen hearing and keen eyes. The animal does not always manage to take them by surprise. However, the fox often catches the jerboa, despite its amazing jumps. The whole thing is spoiled for the jerboa by his hare-like ability to jump in different directions to listen to the enemy. But this technique with the fennec tree does a disservice to the jerboa. The desert fox carefully watches the jumps and runs straight to the place where the jerboa lands. From random jumping and fear, the jerboa soon gets tired and becomes prey to the less dexterous, but more cunning fennec.

It is much easier for the fennec to deal with voles. They have only one salvation: to hide under the roots or crawl into burrows. But this does not save much from a persistent pursuer. The animal digs shallow holes, and a small vole ends up in its stomach.

Family life of fennec cats

Foxes are social animals and live in family groups of ten individuals in branched burrows. Clans typically consist of one married couple, their immature offspring, and sometimes several older children. It happens that several families live in one den.

Desert chanterelles breed once a year. Pregnancy lasts about two months, and in March-April, from two to six cubs are born. Newborns weigh only about 50 grams, their body is covered with light down. white. While the female feeds the offspring, the male brings her food. Babies feed on mother's milk for two to three months, but starting from the fourth week of life they begin to slowly get accustomed to solid food. The older puppies become, the more fiercely they fight for a piece of food. Already at the end of summer, young animals begin to hunt alone, and by nine months they become independent. Often young fennec cats stay with their parents and help raise new offspring.

Fenech's enemies

However, the fennec itself sometimes, during a hunt, becomes a victim of hyenas, caracals, and sometimes leopards, jackals and eagle owls. The animal has the only way to escape from all these predators: to bury itself in the sand, or even better, to climb into its own or someone else’s hole. Burrowing in the sand is common for many desert animals and lizards; The fennec also disappears in front of the eyes of the enemies pursuing him. But he does not always succeed in deceiving hyenas, jackals and people. Hyenas and jackals will not be deceived by their instincts, and they will dig up the animal. In the same way, it is not difficult for a person to rake out a layer of sand and remove the fennec. A much safer way to save the desert fox is in its burrows, where it is safe from all its enemies, with the possible exception of the terrible asp - a snake that terrifies not only animals, but also people.