[Animals] Fennec fox

[FRIDAY THE 13]

Weighing in at around 1kg, the fennec fox is the smallest of all the foxes. As a resident across the Sahara desert and other parts of North Africa the fennec’s long hairs may seem a bit out of place, but what many of us don’t realise is that temperatures in the desert can fall dramatically overnight. Predominately nocturnal, the fennec fox ventures from its underground den at night to find food, keeping warm under its long coat.

You can’t deny that fennec foxes are fluffy; they even have hair on their feet to help them to walk across hot sand more effectively, but it’s not the fur that qualified them for the nature’s cutest.

You can’t miss the fennec foxes big bat-like ears. These magnificent displays of environmental adaptation allow the fennec fox to pinpoint their prey, even when buried under the shifting sands. Behind that button nose are a set of teeth that belong to a ferocious carnivore and formidable hunter.

Even more impressive, the fennec’s ears are lined with blood vessels which act as radiators, helping to regulate and cool the fennec’s body temperature in the hot Sahara sun.

 

link : https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2GknDGkJX7wQhRwpD1qKjgS/fennec-fox