Vulpes zerda

– Data Deficient

Taxonomy

Kingdom:

ANIMALIA

Phylum:

CHORDATA

Class:

MAMMALIA

Order:

CARNIVORA

Family:

CANIDAE

Scientific Name:

Vulpes zerda

Species Authority:

(Zimmermann, 1780)

Synonym/s:

Fennecus zerda (Zimmermann, 1780)

Common Name/s:

English	—	FENNEC FOX
French	—	FENNEC

Taxonomic Notes:

Was in the genus Fennecus.

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria:

DD ver 3.1 (2001)

Year Assessed:

2004

Assessor/s:

Asa, C.S., Valdespino, C. & Cuzin, F.

Evaluator/s:

Sillero-Zubiri, C. & Hoffmann, M. (Canid Red List Authority)

Justification:

The fennec fox is widespread in the sandy deserts and semi-deserts of northern Africa to northern Sinai. Current statistics on relative abundance are not available, but the population is assumed to be adequate based on the observations that the fennec is still commonly trapped and sold commercially in northern Africa. There is no detailed information on its abundance or status. Insufficient information to assess the species beyond Data Deficient at present.

History:

1990	-	Insufficiently Known as Fennecus zerda (IUCN 1990)
1994	-	Insufficiently Known as Fennecus zerda (Groombridge 1994)
1996	-	Data Deficient as Fennecus zerda (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range

Range Description:	Widespread in the sandy deserts and semi-deserts of northern Africa to northern Sinai (Saleh and Basuony 1998).
Countries:	Native: Algeria; Chad; Egypt; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Niger; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Tunisia

Population

Population:

They are common throughout the Sahara (Harrison and Bates 1991) and may occur to north Sahelian areas in the south to 14ºN (Dragesco-Joffé 1993, Granjon et al. 1995). References to fennec sightings in the United Arab Emirates were based on an animal in the Al Ain zoo (Al-Robbae 1982), which was, in fact, a Rüppell's fox (Gasperetti et al.1985). Thesiger (1949) reported fennec tracks in the region of Abu Dhabi but whether the tracks were accurately identified is uncertain. The only documented regression concerns northern Moroccan Sahara, where the fennec disappeared during the 1960s from four localities, which were restricted sandy areas close to permanent human settlements (F. Cuzin, pers. obs.).

Current statistics are not available, but the population is assumed to be adequate based on the observations that the fennec is still commonly trapped and sold commercially in northern Africa. In southern Morocco, fennecs were commonly seen in all sandy areas away from permanent human settlements (F. Cuzin, pers. obs.).

Population Trend:

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:

Fennecs subsist in arid desert environments, preferring this substrate for burrowing. Stable sand dunes are believed to be ideal habitat (Dorst and Dandelot 1969, Coetzee 1977), although they also live in very sparsely vegetated sand dunes near the Atlantic coast (F. Cuzin, pers. obs.). Annual rainfall is less than 100 mm per year on the northern fringe of the fennec’s distribution. On the southern fringe, it may be found up to the Sahelian areas that receive as much as 300 mm rainfall per year. In the Sahara, sparse vegetation is usually dominated by Aristida spp., and Ephedra alata in large sand dunes. In small sand dunes, it is dominated by Panicum turgidum, Zygophyllum spp., and sometimes by trees like Acacia spp. and Capparis deciduas (F. Cuzin, pers. obs.). The fennec fox is claimed to be the only carnivore of the Sahara living completely away from water sources (Dekeyser and Derivot 1959, in Noll-Banholzer 1979).

System:

Terrestrial

List of Habitats:

8.1	Desert - Hot
13.3	Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Sand Dunes

Threats

Threats:

The primary threat appears to be trapping for commercial use. In sandy areas commonly visited by tourists, the fennec is well known, but because it is otherwise difficult to see, it is trapped for exhibition or sale to tourists (F. Cuzin, pers. obs.). Though restricted to marginal areas, new permanent human settlements such as those in southern Morocco have resulted in the disappearance of fennecs in these areas (F. Cuzin, pers. obs.).

List of Threats:

1.4	Habitat Loss/Degradation - Infrastructure development (present, future)
3.4	Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Materials (ongoing)
3.5	Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Cultural/scientific/leisure activities (ongoing)

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

Occurs in protected areas in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Niger and Tunisia.

Listed in CITES – Appendix II (2000).

Listed as "Lower Risk: least concern" (Cuzin 1996) in Morocco, which probably reflects their threat status across their range.

Legally protected in Morocco (including Western Sahara).

Historically, the North American Regional Studbook (Bauman 2002) lists some 839 individuals that have been held in the North American region between 1900 and 2001. At the end of 2001, there were 131 individuals in 51 institutions. The Australian Regional Studbook lists 81 historically, with only 12 in the captive population at present. Although fennecs occur in European zoos, there is no studbook or management plan. Fennecs are also kept as pets and bred privately, but these records are not available.

Gaps in knowledge
While studies of captive animals have gone some way towards improving our knowledge of this enigmatic species (particularly as regards reproduction), much remains unknown of their basic ecology and behaviour in the wild. Work on captive populations is encouraged, but an in-depth study of the species, with particular emphasis on habitat use and population dynamics in the wild is overdue.

List of Conservation Actions:

1.2.1.1	Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - International level (in place)
1.2.1.2	Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - National level (in place)
1.2.2.1	Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - International level (in place)
1.2.2.2	Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - National level (in place)
3.2	Research actions - Population numbers and range (needed)
3.3	Research actions - Biology and Ecology (needed)
3.5	Research actions - Threats (needed)
3.6	Research actions - Uses and harvest levels (needed)
3.9	Research actions - Trends/Monitoring (needed)
4.4.2	Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Establishment (in place)
4.4.3	Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Management (in place)
5.7.1	Species-based actions - Ex situ conservation actions - Captive breeding/Artificial propagation (in place)

Bibliography

Bibliography:

Al-Robbae, K. 1982. Northeast extension of the geographic distribution of fennec fox Fennecus zerda (Zimmermann) in the Arabian Peninsula. Bulletin Basrah Natural History Museum 5:61-64.

Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Bauman, K.L. 2002. Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) North American Regional Studbook. 2nd edn. Saint Louis Zoological Park. St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Canid Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website

Coetzee, C.G. 1977. Order Carnivora. Part 8. In: J. Meester and H.W. Setzer (eds). The mammals of Africa: an identification manual. pp: 1-42. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA.

Cuzin, F. 1996. Répartition actuelle et statut des grands mammifères sauvages du Maroc (Primates, Carnivores, Artiodactyles). Mammalia 60:101-124.

Dorst, J. and Dandelot, P. 1969. A field guide to the larger mammals of Africa. Collins, London, UK.

Dragesco-Joffé, A. 1993. La Vie sauvage au Sahara. Delachaux et Niestlé, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Gasperetti, J., Harrison, D.L. and Büttiker, W. 1985. The carnivora of Saudi Arabia. In: W. Büttiker and F. Krupp (eds). Fauna of Saudi Arabia. pp: 397-461. Pro Entomologica c/o Natural History Museum Basel 7. Basel, Switzerland.

Granjon, L., Cosson, J.-F., Cuisin, J., Tranier, M. and Colas, F. 1995. Les mammifères du littoral mauritanien. 2. Biogéographie et écologie. In: Actes du Colloque Environnement et littoral mauritanien. pp : 73-81. Nouakchott, Mauritania.

Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Harrison, D.L. and Bates, P.J. 1991. The mammals of Arabia, second edition. Harrison Zoological Museum, Sevenoaks, Kent, England.

IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Noll-Banholzer, U. 1979. Water balance and kidney structure in the fennec. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 62A:593-597.

Saleh, M.A. and Basuony, M.I. 1998. A contribution to the mammalogy of the Sinaï peninsula. Mammalia 62:557-575.

Sillero-Zubiri, C., Hoffmann, M. and Macdonald D.W. (eds). 2004. Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Thesiger, W. 1949. A further journey across the empty quarter. Geographical Journal 113:21-46.

Citation:	Asa, C.S., Valdespino, C. & Cuzin, F. 2004. Vulpes zerda. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 August 2008.
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