Hi Steemit family!
For today I have a little about the life and habits of what is considered the smallest fox on the planet, the fox Fenec or desert fox, its scientific name is Fennecus zerda, which is easy to recognize by its huge ears, which gives a good sense of hearing.
It is the smallest of all the species of foxes that exist, in its adult stage reach about 20 centimeters high and almost the same amount of length, about 24 to 41 centimeters to be more exact. Its tail is about 30 centimeters long.
His long ears is one of the symbols of this fox have a length of 15 centimeters, and help much to regulate the temperature and its habitat is mainly deserts, his snout is very pointed, has a soft coat not so long, which serves as a camouflage in the desert sand because it resembles much in color, has an extra resistant skin on their legs, to prevent the heat of the desert affect him.
The largest population of this particular fox is found in the Sahara desert, but it is also easy to find in places such as North Africa through Egypt, Libya, Chad, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Sudan, Mali, Niger, and Algeria.
In short, the fox is equipped to survive extreme climatic conditions of heat in deserts and semi-deserts.
It is mainly carnivorous and feeds on rodents, birds, small lizards, eggs, and some insects such as grasshoppers and lobsters, but not all is meat, as it perfectly complements its diet with leaves, roots and sometimes fruits, these foods eat them regularly because they are the ones that provide hydration for their water content, vital for survival, it is unlikely to find water in the deserts where it lives.
To hunt it uses its finely tuned ears to listen to its prey even underground, so it is usually spent listening to rodents and reptiles that shelter in the sand, once found, it digs until it obtains its reward. This animal does not hunt together but only.
As the fox hunts alone but does not live alone, it groups communities of up to 10 members, among which are their place and their offspring, when they grow up sometimes stay in that group, although everything is decided in the mating season where they compete to be the dominant male of the herd.
They are mainly nocturnal, so it is unlikely that we will find them outside their burrows during the day. Above all, because of their high temperatures. They live in burrows that make up a wide network of perfectly constructed tunnels with many exits to escape from their enemies. They are warned thanks to a wide range of vocalizations to communicate with each other.
This species is 100% monogamous, so they will only have one partner all their life, so once they reach sexual maturity at approximately 9 months, they will be active to find their partner and establish their own family nucleus.
They are under conservationist observation since in some cases they have been trafficked as exotic animals, the positive part is that they are highly protected by conservation animal laws in countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia.
Thank you for reading
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