Fennec fox: The big-eared little fox of the desert

The fennec fox is one of the smallest canids in the world — smaller than a house cat — yet it has a pair of enormous ears. It is a survival expert of the Sahara, using those ears and a clever schedule to make a home of a harsh desert. Let's meet it.

Its body

The fennec fox's most striking feature is its pair of large, thin ears. They do double duty: they radiate heat away, helping it cool down in the scorching desert, and they hear extremely well, picking up small animals moving beneath the sand — a kind of built-in radar. Its coat is creamy white, blending into moonlit sand, and its paws are furred, protecting it from hot ground and helping it walk on soft sand.

Where it lives and what it eats

The fennec fox is an omnivore, eating insects, lizards, small rodents, eggs and fruit. It has a special ability: it hardly ever needs to drink, getting enough water from its food. To escape the desert's daytime heat, it rests in a burrow by day and forages at night. It faces huge swings between day and night temperatures, and its big ears help regulate its body heat.

Where it is found

The fennec fox lives in the Sahara region of North Africa. It lives in family groups, and burrows are where they escape the heat and raise their pups. However cute people find it, a wild animal is not suited to being a pet — what it needs is a free desert.

A note for grown-ups

You could talk with a child about what ears are for: cooling down, and hearing. Helping a child move from a body feature to its environment shows how "structure adapts to habitat" — which is why desert animals so often have big ears.