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Fenech is an unusual fox of small sizes that lives in the deserts of Africa. It is a separate species of foxes. The name of the animal arose from the Arabic word "fox". However, unlike his brothers, Fenech is much smaller.
By its dimensions, this fox is inferior even to an ordinary domestic cat, representing the most compact representative of the canine family. Her height barely reaches 20 centimeters, the length of the body is about 40 cm, and the tail is not more than 30 centimeters. Fenka's body weight is not more than one and a half kilograms. The muzzle of the fox is pointed, short, ears and eyes are large, especially with respect to the head.
Ears can be up to 15 centimeters long! Such a large size allows the animal to hunt with high efficiency in the desert for its prey - small insects and lizards. The fox catches them using its small and sharp teeth. In addition, during extremely hot periods, the animal’s ears serve for efficient heat transfer. Fenech is mainly a nocturnal animal, the structure of its eyes is designed in such a way as to hunt effectively at night. The retina in the dark is slightly cast in dark red.
The coat of this small chanterelle is rather thick, slightly rises above the body, its color allows it to hide successfully in environmental conditions: it is red on the back and head, and the limbs and abdomen are covered with white hair. The tail is magnificent, its tip is painted in dark color.
The fox living in the desert is known for its dexterity, cunning, agility and ability to jump perfectly. In particular, she jumps great in height, reaching 70 centimeters, and the length of the forward jump is about a meter. Thus, the sacrifice that Fenech chooses for hunting is completely doomed.
Along with ordinary foxes, this animal prefers to go hunting at night, and during the day he tries to find suitable shelter in order to hide from the scorching sun. Usually, a Fenech hides in cozy minks that it digs on its own. An animal can dig a 6-meter mink during one night. The network of moves and branches located underground is rather complicated and intricately arranged, having several inputs and outputs at once. This helps the animal to successfully hide from the predators chasing it.
Most of these moves are created under thickets of shrubs or small desert trees, due to the roots of which the walls of minks are held. In some cases, the underground passages can be so spacious and vast that several families of foxes can get along in them without conflict. However, usually Fenech does not worry about his own life, because in the desert conditions the animal has practically no natural enemies.
The desert fox is an omnivorous animal, so often it manages to get food for itself directly from the ground. Among the favorite food of Fenka there are bird eggs, small insects and lizards. The fox does not disdain to taste carrion, she will gladly accept a variety of root crops. The beast can perfectly cope with thirst due to the liquid that may be contained in food. Often, Fenech procures food for himself for the future.
The Fenech fox is considered a social animal, they form quite numerous families, which can include about ten individuals. Often a family includes a pair of parents and two or three generations of cubs. Then, as the offspring grows up, a large family is divided into several. Fenki communicate with each other using a specific set of sounds.
Habitat Fenka
The fox tries to live in sultry desert areas, adhering to a few thickets of dry shrubs and grass. Thus, it is very important for an animal to live where there is vegetation. It is there that she can spend her holidays, take refuge from the sultry sun and rarely seen predatory animals.
This animal tries not to get close to human settlements, does not make contact with people and keeps away from water bodies. If people and dwellings appear near the underground holes and shelters of Fenka, the fox will soon leave this area. There is currently no verified information about the number of Fenech foxes in the deserts. Often they are killed by hunters who want to get beautiful animal fur, sometimes they also catch a fox in order to send them to pet stores in the future.
Features of breeding and life span fenka
The desert fox produces offspring once a year. The only exceptions are those cases when the first cubs die. Then the female gives birth to second cubs in one year. With the onset of January, the mating ritual begins in animals. However, the female estrus lasts no more than two days. These animals are monogamous, therefore, pairs are formed for them for a long time.
Male and female choose for themselves a specific territory of the desert terrain, securing it for themselves. Over the course of several tens of days during which the marriage ritual is performed, the males show anxiety, militancy and aggression, actively mark the area around the house with their own urine. In the meantime, the female begins to intensely signal ο readiness for mating, drawing her tail to the side.
Before birth, the cubs are hatched for a couple of months. In spring 4-6 puppies are born. This occurs in a small mink filled with bird fluff, dry vegetation and fur. Kids are born completely unsuitable for independent existence, they are blind and helpless. Their weight barely reaches fifty grams, the body is covered with short and sparse fluff, the color is close to cream. After 13-15 days, the eyes of the babies open. Ears, which are curled up when they are born, immediately become a stick. Their growth is quite fast and will soon look like adult animals.
During the first couple of weeks, the female does not leave the "nursery", she is always near her own cubs, not even letting the male go to them. The role of the latter is to obtain food, which he brings to the mink, but does not even look inside. Otherwise, he has a risk of running into the aggression of the female.
About a month after birth, the puppies begin to leave their mink, exploring the surrounding area. However, at first they did not leave their homes for long and did not go too far. Only by the age of three months, when the mother ceases to feed them their own milk, they can decide to move far enough and for a long time from the fox hole.
When Fenka turns 9 months old, he is an adult sexually mature animal that can mate and survive in harsh desert conditions. By this time, Fenech often leaves his family in order to create his own.
However, sometimes the animal remains with its parents. They are also engaged in the continuation of a kind, increase the size of the clan and assist in raising new offspring. In the conditions of natural habitat, the life span of a desert fox is not very long, reaches about 6-7 years. However, when keeping fenka in an apartment or a well-maintained aviary, an animal can live a couple of decades.
Content fenka in the house
There is no great difficulty in keeping the animal in the apartment and raising it. They calmly and easily adapt to an unusual environment and reproduce magnificently. Being a pet, this fox will become a gentle, attentive and intelligent pet, especially if you take the time to properly educate him. However, it is not recommended to excessively relax, as any animal needs care and sensitivity.
To keep fenka in the apartment, you must have a spacious cell or even a small room, which will become a personal home for the pet, despite its small size. The floor in the fox enclosure will need to be covered with a thick sand layer, where the animal will be able to dig minks for itself. This fox has a real need for this, otherwise Fenech will try to dig a shelter for himself in a completely different way.
It may be difficult to teach a fox to use the toilet in the same place. Thus, the room chosen for the pet’s residence should imply the ability to cope with need anywhere. If the fox does not have such an opportunity, then an unpleasant smell will instantly fly around the house.
When keeping a desert fox in a house, usually there are no problems with feeding the animal. He is quite unpretentious, omnivorous, can eat almost everything that will be provided to him. But it is worthwhile to understand that, in the first place, a fox is a predatory animal, so it is necessary to focus on food of animal origin. Fennka does not have to constantly have water to drink, but to completely forget ο she is not advised.
The diet can be made up of meat pieces or live food - small insects, mice and lizards. The fox will be happy to hunt them. It is not prohibited to supplement the food with eggs, fish or dairy products. Sometimes you can offer your pet a delicious porridge. You can quickly figure out what kind of food your pet prefers.
Cost fenka
To acquire such a specific pet for yourself, you will need to have a fairly large amount of money. The cost of an overseas animal usually exceeds the amount of 35,000 rubles. In addition, the maintenance at home of a desert fox entails a considerable amount of cost.
The animal needs to provide all conditions that are as close as possible to the natural habitat. The pet should be warm, comfortable, in the aviary or room should be sand and constant food. It is forbidden to keep the animal on a cool balcony or in a room that is regularly aired.
Video: Fenech (Vulpes zerda)
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