Fennec fox
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Fennec foxes can get water from the food they eat.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Fennec fox
- Scientific name
- Vulpes zerda
- Japanese name
- フェネック
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Canidae
- Genus
- Vulpes
It lives in deserts, shelters in burrows during hot days, and is active at night.
How the Fennec fox lives
When they locate prey beneath the sand, they dig to uncover it. They cache food to eat later. They can live in family groups.
Smithsonian National ZooUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- 35.6–40.6 cm
- Weight
- 0.9–1.4 kg
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)
- Diet
- Insects, small rodents, lizards, birds, eggs, roots, fruits and leaves
- Range
- North Africa, the Sahara Desert, Sinai and Arabia
Where the Fennec fox has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- フェネック
- 简体中文
- 耳廓狐
- 繁體中文
- 耳廓狐
- 한국어
- 페넥여우
- Español
- Feneco
- Français
- Fennec
- Deutsch
- Wüstenfuchs
- Português (Brasil)
- Raposa-Fennec
- Italiano
- Fennec
- العربية
- فنك، ثعلب الصحراء
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Rubah fennec
- Tiếng Việt
- Cáo tai to châu Phi
- Русский
- Фенек
- Türkçe
- Uzun kulaklı çöl tilkisi
- বাংলা
- ফেনেক শেয়াল
- اردو
- صحرائی لومڑ
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- Smithsonian National Zoo — Fennec foxChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Vulpes zerdaChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Fennec fox, look for this
- Look for the bushy tail with a black tip.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
Smithsonian National ZooEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Fennec fox
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Chubu
Kyushu and Okinawa
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Canidae
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