Fennec - the cute desert fox
This is a video we made when we met a little fennec owned by a nomad family in Merzouga:
The Fennec animal - a.k.a the desert fox (or Vulpes zerda) - lives in the Sahara desert of North Africa, from Morocco all the way to Egypt (it is the national animal of Algeria), also in the Arabian desert (Saudi Arabia, United Arabic Emirates , Yemen...) it is one of the cutest exotic animals that live in the Sahara desert, their baige -ish color helps them blend in the dunes, their cute huge ears help them in adapting and surviving in the wild, they could hear the heartbeats of their prey from very far away, they can also hear predators.. their prey are usually insects, small mammals, and birds.. fennec foxes stay small even when they become adults, they generally have a body length of between 24–41 cm (9–16 in) and around 20.3 cm (8 in) tall.. Other than the huge ears, the fennec foxes are famous for their furry bushy tail that measures between 17 and 30 centimeters, that is also adding to their cuteness.
They are about 0.7–1.6 kg (1.5–3.5 lb) in weight and can live up to 10 years in the wild, but if they are domesticated and they are taken care of, their life span could expand up to 14 years.
In the Sahara desert part of Morocco (Erg Chebbi or Erg Chgaga) you could spot some of these cute little creators at some nomad families, some local kids capture them and try to sell them to tourists, or they try to get tips from tourists who love taking pictures of fennecs or of themselves holding those exotic pretty babies.. unfortunately some visitors are uninformed about desert foxes and they take them home.. if it didn't happen at birth then the fennec fox will refuse to eat if you take it home and tried to make it your pet.
So we strongly advise you not to buy one or even tip those kids in exchange of taking pictures, you can help them and help the local people of the Sahara in other ways, not by contributing to what they do to fennec foxes.
They are not classified as endangered species yet but the unfair-trade is causing them to live in places that are not their environment and sometimes with people who don't know how to treat them and train them. And this could little by little endanger their existence.
Nevertheless, you could still have one, as long as you get them in a legitimate way through breeders, and if you have all the necessary information about how to train them and how to treat them. And also about the downsides.. Do not be fooled by their cuteness, fennec foxes can be hyper active and scream really loud for minutes non-stop, especially baby ones.. they can also smell sometimes. You must be prepared and dedicated and also have a suitable place before thinking about having them as domestic pets.
Unfortunately year after year there are less and less exotic animals in the Desert, basically because of the human settlements and buildings and also the exploring of the Sahara using cars, ATVs, and Motorcycles..
