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Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda) Fact Sheet: Reproduction & Development

Courtship

Mating system

  • Long-term pair bond (Bekoff et al. 1981)

Courtship behavior and copulation

  • Members of a pair spend more time near each other during breeding (Asa and Cuzin 2013)
  • Mutual sniffing, especially of muzzles and genitals (Asa and Cuzin 2013)
  • Play behavior observed (managed care) (Sowards 1981)
  • To signal male partner, female holds tail horizontally and twitches it to one side (Gauthier-Pilters 1967)
  • Copulation can be long: 1 h 15 min to 2 h 45 min (Gauthier-Pilters 1967; Valdespino et al. 2002)
  • After mating, male becomes very protective of female (Gauthier-Pilters 1967)
    • Brings food to female during pregnancy until after young are weaned (Sowards 1981; Asa and Cuzin 2013)

Reproduction

General

  • Sexual maturity
    • First mating reported to occur at 9 to 12 months of age (Gauthier-Pilters 1967; Bekoff et al. 1981)

Breeding

  • Females ovulate once per year (Valdespino et al. 2002; Valdespino 2007)
    • Receptive for only 1 to 2 days per estrus cycle (Asa and Valdespino 1998; Valdespino et al. 2002)
  • Breeding season
    • Not known for wild populations (Asa and Cuzin 2013)
    • Findings from one study site:
      • Mating: January to February (Gauthier-Pilters 1967)
      • Females give birth: March to April (Saint Girons 1962; Gauthier-Pilters 1967)
    • Also see “Breeding” in Husbandry

Gestation and Birth

Gestation

  • Gestation period
    • About 50 to 53 (range: 49 to 63) days (Petter 1957, Volf 1957, Saint Girons 1962; Gauthier-Pilters 1967; Koenig 1970; Gangloff 1972)
      • Not well known for wild populations
      • Longer gestation periods reported in zoos (e.g., Gangloff 1972)
  • Litter size
    • 1 to 4 young (Petter 1957; Gauthier-Pilters 1967; Koenig 1970; Gangloff 1972; Bauman 2002)

Birth

  • Weight at birth
    • About 28 g (0.99 oz) (Bekoff et al. 1981)
  • Also see “Newborn” in Life Stages

Interbirth interval

  • Females produce 1 litter per year (Valdespino et al. 2002; Valdespino 2007)

Parental Care

Roles in care

  • Defense of young (Koenig 1970)
    • Female defends young and den until about 6 weeks after birth (Koenig 1970)
    • To transport pups, grips each by the neck with mouth (Gauthier-Pilters 1967; Gangloff 1972)
    • Male helps to guard and care for young (Asa and Cuzin 2013)
  • Grooming and nursing
    • Most frequent when young are 1 to 2 months old (Koenig 1970)

Weaning

  • Wild populations
    • Weaning occurs at 61 to 70 days old (Koenig 1962)
      • First eat meat at about 21 days old (Koenig 1962)
      • Prey frequently brought to young until 70 days old (Koenig 1962)
  • Managed care
    • Weaning begins at 28 to 30 days old (Dempsey et al. 2009)

Life Stages

Newborn

  • At birth (Gangloff 1972; Castelló 2018)
    • Short, fine fur on body
    • Eyes closed
    • Ears folded
  • 8 to 12 days old (Gangloff 1972; Bekoff et al. 1981; Castelló 2018)
    • Eyes open
    • Ears lift
  • About 14 days
    • Gain mobility (Gangloff 1972)
  • About 16 days
    • First meat eaten (managed care) (Gauthier-Pilters 1967)

Juvenile

  • 6 weeks
    • Early food-defense behavior (managed care) (Gauthier-Pilters 1962)
  • 6 to 7 weeks
    • Early greeting behavior towards keeper (managed care) (Gauthier-Pilters 1962)

Adult

  • 9 to 11 months
    • Offspring reach adult size and sexual maturity (Koenig 1962)

Typical Life Expectancy

Wild populations

  • Not known (Asa and Cuzin 2013)

Managed care

  • Median life expectancy
    • 11.1 years (AZA 2023)

Mortality and Health

Predators

  • Confirmation needed (Asa and Cuzin 2013)
  • Possible predators (unconfirmed) include (Gauthier-Pilters 1967; Dragesco-Joffe 1993; Larivière 2002):
    • Eagle-owls, Bufo spp.
    • Domestic dogs
    • Jackals
    • Striped hyenas, Hyaena hyaena
  • Fennec foxes very difficult for predators to catch (Monteil 1951 and Dragesco-Joffe 1993, as cited by Asa et al. 2004)

Diseases (non-comprehensive list)

  • Possibly susceptible to canine distemper (Woo et al. 2010; Choi et al. 2014; Martinez-Gutierrez and Ruiz-Saenz 2016)
    • Reported in only a small number of fennec fox cases to-date
  • Fungal infections of the skin (e.g., Pressanti et al. 2012)

Parasites (non-comprehensive list)

  • Parasitic flatworms (trematodes) (Larivière 2002)
  • Roundworms (nematodes) (Gangloff 1972; Larivière 2002)
  • Protozoans (e.g., Toxoplasma gondii) (Kottwitz et al. 2004)

Growing Up

Fennec fox kit at the San Diego Zoo

Fennec fox kit at the San Diego Zoo.

Fennec foxes reach adult size at approximately 9 to 11 months old.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

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