Family of fennec foxes - Olesya Goloviychuk
Olesya Goloviychuk
Country:
Russia
Web:
http://virink.com/arcwolf
Social Media:
http://vk.com/arcwolf
Title:
Family of fennec foxes
Species:
Fennec
Description:
The fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is a small nocturnal fox found in the Sahara of North Africa. Its most distinctive feature is its funny large ears, which also serve to dissipate heat.
The fennec is the smallest species of canid in the world and its even smaller than domestic cat. Its coat, ears, and kidney functions have adapted to high-temperature, low-water and other troubles of a desert. In addition, its hearing is sensitive enough to hear prey moving underground. It mainly eats insects, small mammals, and birds.
The fennec has a life span of up to 14 years in captivity. Its main predators are the African varieties of eagle owl. Families of fennecs dig out dens in sand for habitation and protection, which can be as large as 120 m2 and adjoin the dens of other families. Precise population figures are not known but are estimated from the frequency of sightings; these indicate that the animal is currently not threatened by extinction. Knowledge of social interactions is limited to information gathered from captive animals. The species is usually assigned to the genus Vulpes; however, this is debated due to differences between the fennec fox and other fox species. The fennec's fur is prized by the indigenous peoples of North Africa, and in some parts of the world, the animal is considered an exotic pet.
Category:
Manual
Technique:
pastel, other
Year:
2016
As the author of illustration I have given permission and consent to be loaded in Wikimedia Commons with Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0.
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