The Fennec fox (vulpes zerda)
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The Fennec Fox lives in the Sahara Desert which is a harsh, arid landscape that has a lack of water, high temperatures that can reach 50 to 60 degrees Celsius and plummet to minus 6 degrees at night. There is also frequent sand storms and the occasional flash flood which is the only real time the desert experiences rain.
The Fennec Fox survives in these conditions balancing its bodily adaptations to fight the environment. The Fennec Fox is an endotherm and creates its own body heat to combat the cold weather over night, they burrow deep underground and their body heat reflects back into them in the ground and their think fur keeps them warm as well. They are also nocturnal to help avoid the heat of the day.
The Fennec Fox survives in these conditions balancing its bodily adaptations to fight the environment. The Fennec Fox is an endotherm and creates its own body heat to combat the cold weather over night, they burrow deep underground and their body heat reflects back into them in the ground and their think fur keeps them warm as well. They are also nocturnal to help avoid the heat of the day.
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During the day when it is hot their large up to six inch ears act as radiators and dissipate heat as well as hear very well across the sand for predators, their thick fur on the pads of their feet insulate them from the hot sand and gives them invaluable traction of the sand and prevents them from sinking.
The colour of their fur is sandy and gives them camouflage to hide from predators and reflects the heat of the sun during the day, they are able to go long periods of time without water as their kidneys restrict water loss, their time spent underground can lead to dew forming from the condensation of their body heat and can be absorbed for fluids and they retain a lot of water from their food.
They eat insects such as grasshoppers, small lizards, rodents and even eggs if given the chance. Their predators are humans that want them for the pet trade and their coats, eagle owls and jackals that live in the desert as well. They avoid these by blending in with the environment with their sandy coloured fur, they burrow underground and are nocturnal and can hear very well.
The colour of their fur is sandy and gives them camouflage to hide from predators and reflects the heat of the sun during the day, they are able to go long periods of time without water as their kidneys restrict water loss, their time spent underground can lead to dew forming from the condensation of their body heat and can be absorbed for fluids and they retain a lot of water from their food.
They eat insects such as grasshoppers, small lizards, rodents and even eggs if given the chance. Their predators are humans that want them for the pet trade and their coats, eagle owls and jackals that live in the desert as well. They avoid these by blending in with the environment with their sandy coloured fur, they burrow underground and are nocturnal and can hear very well.
This map shows the size of the area that the Fennec Fox can be found in that spans the top of the continent of Africa.