The Fennec Fox is a small nocturnal fox found in the Sahara Desert of North Africa, although this sleepy guy was found at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. The Fennec Fox has distinctive very large ears, weighs up to 3.3 lb with a body length of up to 16 in. The tail is an additional 10 in or so, and the ears can be 6 in long. Their coats are often a sandy color, allowing them to blend with their desert surroundings. Its characteristic ears serve to scatter heat and to hear the movement of prey at night. Its ears are sensitive enough to hear large insects, such as beetles and locusts walk on the sand. Its coat reflects sunlight during the day and conserves heat at night. The soles of its feet are protected from the hot sand by thick fur.
The Fennec Fox is a nocturnal omnivore. At night, it hunts rodents, insects, birds, and eggs of birds and insects. Much of the diet is desert vegetation, from which the Fennec Fox gets most of its water. This consists of grasses, some roots, and some fruit and berries. The Fennec Fox can survive extremely long without drinking water, sometimes years, but drinks when water is available.