What is the maximal age a Fennec fox reaches?
An adult Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) usually gets as old as 14.58 years.
Fennec foxs are around 51 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 28 grams (0.06 lbs) and measure 11.1 cm (0′ 5″). As a member of the Canidae family (genus: Vulpes), their offspring is 2 babies per pregnancy. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 37.5 cm (1′ 3″).
As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.
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
Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Canidae):
- Kit fox becoming 20 years old
- Ethiopian wolf growing to a mass of 14.38 kgs (31.7 lbs)
- Black-backed jackal becoming 14 years old
- Island fox becoming 8 years old
- Pampas fox becoming 13.67 years old
- Bush dog becoming 10.33 years old
- Raccoon dog becoming 14 years old
- Culpeo with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Tibetan sand fox with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Short-eared dog becoming 11 years old
Animals that reach the same age as Fennec fox
With an average age of 14.58 years, Fennec fox are in good companionship of the following animals:
- Red brocket usually reaching 13.75 years
- Meerkat usually reaching 12.5 years
- Yellow-footed rock-wallaby usually reaching 12 years
- Lowland paca usually reaching 16 years
- Tricolored bat usually reaching 15 years
- Common bent-wing bat usually reaching 14 years
- Brown mouse lemur usually reaching 12 years
- Black-footed cat usually reaching 12 years
- Nilgiri tahr usually reaching 17.25 years
- Black-mantled tamarin usually reaching 15.17 years
Animals with the same number of babies Fennec fox
The same number of babies at once (2) are born by:
- Cougar
- False water rat
- Grey-bellied squirrel
- Alston’s brown mouse
- Durango chipmunk
- Champion’s tree mouse
- Tres Marías Island mouse
- Agile kangaroo rat
- Ochre bush squirrel
- Layard’s palm squirrel
Weighting as much as Fennec fox
A fully grown Fennec fox reaches around 1.32 kg (2.91 lbs). So do these animals:
- Red giant flying squirrel weighting 1.54 kilos (3.4 lbs) on average
- Giant golden-crowned flying fox weighting 1.09 kilos (2.4 lbs) on average
- Cream-coloured giant squirrel weighting 1.16 kilos (2.56 lbs) on average
- Hodgson’s giant flying squirrel weighting 1.48 kilos (3.26 lbs) on average
- Woylie weighting 1.22 kilos (2.69 lbs) on average
- Eastern quoll weighting 1.12 kilos (2.47 lbs) on average
- Nabarlek weighting 1.4 kilos (3.09 lbs) on average
- Long-nosed potoroo weighting 1.07 kilos (2.36 lbs) on average
- Haussa genet weighting 1.4 kilos (3.09 lbs) on average
- Black flying squirrel weighting 1.19 kilos (2.62 lbs) on average
Animals as big as a Fennec fox
Those animals grow as big as a Fennec fox:
- Macleay’s dorcopsis with 39.9 cm (1′ 4″)
- African striped weasel with 30.4 cm (1′ 0″)
- Bronze quoll with 35.6 cm (1′ 3″)
- Liberian mongoose with 45 cm (1′ 6″)
- Pale fox with 43 cm (1′ 5″)
- Slender mongoose with 33 cm (1′ 1″)
- Alpine woolly rat with 44.2 cm (1′ 6″)
- Ring-tailed cat with 33.9 cm (1′ 2″)
- Six-banded armadillo with 44.8 cm (1′ 6″)
- Banded mongoose with 36.3 cm (1′ 3″)