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

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)

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

• 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)

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)

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)

Wild populations

• Not known (Asa and Cuzin 2013)

Managed care

• Median life expectancy
  • 11.1 years (AZA 2023)

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)

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.