From reader Lee in Tasmania, who sent this video with the note “Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney has released video of a fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) kit”:
Even adult fennecs are tiny: about half the weight of a house cat (fennecs weigh about 1.5–3.5 lb, or 0.7–1.6 kg), so you can imagine how small that kit is. Pity there’s no way to see it to scale.
Oh, and they live in the Sahara Desert, which explains in two ways why their ears are so large.
I have an Abyssinian kitty and her her ears are pretty big.
Is this a safe space wherein i can admit that I am an ear fetishist?
I love big ears on animals, especially kitties!
The ancestors of Abys come from a very hot climate, which explains the big ears.
The Baby Animals Rant the News (B.A.R.N.) folks need to use the Vulpes zerda in one of their videos . . . .
To hear better for underground prey and cooling maybe??
The Arctic fox has tiny ears to prevent heat loss.
My daughter owns a very find dog she claims is a chiweenie. A mix of chiwawa and dachshund. It’s ears are reminiscent of the fennec fox.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/92797706@N00/32569088681/in/dateposted/
I love that dog!!
Completely enchanting! What lovely animals!
Thermoregulation and what’s the other one?
Better satellite reception.
Hey, a good GPS is damn handy in a desert.
Consensus seems to be “so they can hear better” which is probably true but boring. I was hoping for something neato like “increased surface area for collecting dew” or something like that.
Directional hearing.
There are a few cues to scale in the video: the graininess of the sand, the seed heads on the grass, the creases in the foxes’ fur, but mostly in the proportions of their bodies. A fox built like a kitten is probably about the size of a kitten, because that’s the appropriate ratio of strength to mass for an animal that size.
May I nominate the Fennec Fox for Honorary Cat™ status?
All foxes were awarded that some months ago, but perhaps these deserve high honors?
My squee-dometer is at 11.
I agree that thermoregulation is one reason to have big ears. The other reason is undoubtedly related to hearing. Are the foxes nocturnal? Prey is sparse in the desert and may be burrowing, so good hearing would be helpful.
Cute
Yes.
Also, sub.
Adorable!
It looks a fiesty little bugger, could imagine it being a handful in the Sahara with the likelihood of Predators,probably explains the nervousness of the Parents.
Fennec foxes were in the news a few months ago:
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/23/is-zootopia-creating-demand-for-pet-fennec-foxes-in-china-spoiler-probably-not/