It is hard to guess what a Fennec fox weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) on average weights 1.32 kg (2.91 lbs).
The Fennec fox is from the family Canidae (genus: Vulpes). It is usually born with about 28 grams (0.06 lbs). They can live for up to 14.58 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 37.5 cm (1′ 3″). Usually, Fennec foxs have 2 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The fennec fox (Vulpes zerda), also called fennec or desert fox, is a small crepuscular fox native to the Sahara Desert, the Sinai Peninsula, Arava desert South West Israel, and the Arabian desert. Its most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears, which also serve to dissipate heat. Its name comes from this species’ name in Arabic: fanak (فَنَك). The fennec is the smallest species of canid. Its coat, ears, and kidney functions have adapted to high-temperature, low-water, desert environments. Also, 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 and about 10 years in the wild. Its main predators are the African varieties of eagle owl, jackals, and other large mammals. Families of fennecs dig out dens in the sand for habitation and protection, which can be as large as 120 m2 (1,292 sq ft) 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.
Animals of the same family as a Fennec fox
We found other animals of the Canidae family:
- Bengal fox bringing 2.51 kilos (5.53 lbs) to the scale
- Hoary fox bringing 4.23 kilos (9.33 lbs) to the scale
- Raccoon dog bringing 4.22 kilos (9.3 lbs) to the scale
- Red wolf bringing 26.7 kilos (58.86 lbs) to the scale
- Island fox bringing 1.92 kilos (4.23 lbs) to the scale
- South American gray fox bringing 6.34 kilos (13.98 lbs) to the scale
- Golden jackal bringing 9.67 kilos (21.32 lbs) to the scale
- Maned wolf bringing 23.31 kilos (51.39 lbs) to the scale
- Ethiopian wolf bringing 14.38 kilos (31.7 lbs) to the scale
- Sechuran fox bringing 4.23 kilos (9.33 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Fennec fox
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Vulpes zerda:
- Little Swan Island hutia with a weight of 1.5 kilos (3.31 lbs)
- Emin’s pouched rat with a weight of 1.28 kilos (2.82 lbs)
- Red giant flying squirrel with a weight of 1.54 kilos (3.4 lbs)
- Greater glider with a weight of 1.26 kilos (2.78 lbs)
- Rothschild’s woolly rat with a weight of 1.16 kilos (2.56 lbs)
- Telefomin cuscus with a weight of 1.44 kilos (3.17 lbs)
- Northern olingo with a weight of 1.25 kilos (2.76 lbs)
- Spotted linsang with a weight of 1.14 kilos (2.51 lbs)
- Sable with a weight of 1.17 kilos (2.58 lbs)
- Thomas’s flying squirrel with a weight of 1.43 kilos (3.15 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Fennec fox
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Fennec fox:
- Slender mongoose with a size of 33 cm (1′ 1″)
- Hispaniolan hutia with a size of 30 cm (1′ 0″)
- Yarkand hare with a size of 39 cm (1′ 4″)
- Mountain cottontail with a size of 32.4 cm (1′ 1″)
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur with a size of 33.5 cm (1′ 2″)
- Desert cottontail with a size of 32.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- Common kusimanse with a size of 33.9 cm (1′ 2″)
- New England cottontail with a size of 36.3 cm (1′ 3″)
- Eastern quoll with a size of 33.3 cm (1′ 2″)
- Amami rabbit with a size of 44.4 cm (1′ 6″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Fennec fox
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (2) as a Fennec fox:
- Selous’s mongoose
- Giant otter
- Bobcat
- Cactus mouse
- Zempoaltepec
- White-bellied mosaic-tailed rat
- Thick-tailed pygmy jerboa
- Big-eared climbing rat
- Caracal
- Long-tailed pygmy possum
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Fennec fox
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Fennec fox:
- European pine marten with an average maximal age of 17 years
- Greater glider with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Philippine tarsier with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Gray mouse lemur with an average maximal age of 15.5 years
- Servaline genet with an average maximal age of 17 years
- Horsfield’s tarsier with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Tricolored bat with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Prince Demidoff’s bushbaby with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Capybara with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Common pipistrelle with an average maximal age of 16.67 years