Blogging Through the Alphabet ~ “F” for Fennec Fox #abcblogging

Joining up with Marcy over at Ben & Me for “Blogging through the Alphabet” and super excited to do so!

Since our family has a general love and appreciation for all the animals the Lord has created…I am going to attempt to “Blog through the Alphabet” using animals. We started with “A for Alpaca” then we had “B for Bearded Dragon” and “C for Crocodile“, “D for Donkey“, “E for Elephant Shrew” and now “F for Fennec Fox”.

Photo Credit

What an interesting little creature the Lord has made! The Fennec Fox is a small nocturnal mammal that is found in the Sahara of North Africa.

Class: Mammalia.
Order: Cadnivora.
Family: Canidae.
Genus and Species: Vulpes (fennecus) zedra.
Classification: These furry animals are the smallest of all canines.

They are creme colored with black tipped tails. Their tails are very long…being about 3/4 the length of their body.

It has really big ears (measuring SIX INCHES!) which actually help it to deal with heat by radiating it out and they have long hair which helps keep them warm in the cool desert nights and protects them from the sun during the day.

Even their feet have fur which serves several purposes: protects from hot sand, helps as a shovel for digging and they perform like “snowshoes” in the sand.

They can dig up to 20 feet down in one night.

The fennec fox weighs about 1.5–3.5 lbs, with a body length of between 9–16 inches and is around 8 inches tall. It is the smallest species of canid in the world. The tail is 7–12 inches long, while the ears can be between 4-6 inches long.

They live in underground dens and sleep during the day.

They are opportunistic eaters. They forage for plants but also eat rodents, eggs, reptiles, and insects. Fennecs have very acute hearing and can pick up the movements of their prey or enemies at a considerable distance–even underground. 

They are able to jump two feet high and four feet forward which helps them to find prey and to avoid predators.

Like most desert dwellers, the fennec fox has developed the ability to go for long periods without water.

Unlike most foxes Fennec Foxes are social; they live in small communities but do not hunt in groups, but individually.

Life span is 10 – 12 years.

They have litters once a year consisting of 2 – 5 young.

Their adorable appearance makes them favorites of the captive pet trade, and local peoples also hunt it for its fur.

I hope you have learned some fun things about the Fennec Fox! Come back next week to see what interesting animal we discuss for the letter G!

Here’s praying we all have fun learning!

 

Tagged: Animals, Homeschooling