When fully grown, fennec foxes are only about the size of a domestic cat. They look exactly like miniature foxes, except for one huge difference – their ears. Each ear is about the same size as the fox’s face. They do not only make the fennec fox look cute, but they also help them to survive in one of the harshest climates in the world – the deserts of North Africa.
Below are five fun facts about the extremely cute fennec fox.
1. The Ears Have It
Those ears are definitely better to hear you with – the fennec fox uses them to hunt, enabling them to hear bugs and small rodents moving about underground. However, hearing isn’t the only thing that their huge ears are good for. Just like a vent on a furnace, they help to keep the foxes cool by getting rid of any extra heat, keeping them comfortable even in the hottest of desert temperatures.
2. Desert Living
Their huge ears aren’t the only way that the fennec fox handles the harsh desert environment. They’re nocturnal, which means that they prefer to come out at night. They sleep in underground dens during the day so that they don’t have to roam about in the hot sun. If they do have to go out when the sun is up, their fur coats protect them from sunburn. Then at night, when the temperature plummets, that same fur keeps them warm – it’s an outfit that works no matter what time of the day it is. They even have fur on the bottom of their feet so their paws don’t get burned.
3. Social Life
Fennec foxes use their paws to dig out dens underground. They fox parents will live in these dens with their babies, called kits. There are often other dens nearby with other fox families as they are social animals and love to play. They have even been heard to purr when happy.
4. Leaps and Bounds
Fennecs might be the smallest of all foxes, but they can certainly jump. In fact, they can jump up as high as 61 cm. While this might not sound a lot to you, you should bear in mind that these foxes are only 20 cm tall, so they actually have the ability to jump three times their height. They can also jump a distance of 120 cm.
5. Not-So-Picky Eaters
Fennec foxes would be great dinner guests as they will eat almost anything. Fennecs will mostly eat insects and mice, but they also like eggs and fruit when they can get their cute little paws on them. Fennecs need very little water and get most of their requirements from their food.
If you want more cute foxes, we recommend you click here!
Source: cbc
