"So Squee! Friday" edition… the fennec fox!

It’s almost the weekend! And to help you hang in there, we’re introducing our new So Squee! Fridays to the Something Positive For Your Day blog! Each Friday, we will educate you on a different, ridiculously adorable animal to help you make it through the day until the weekend starts!

Today’s So Squee! animal is the fennec fox, the national animal of Algeria! Aw, such a cutie! Look at those adorable ears!!!

Fennec foxes are nocturnal foxes that live in the Sahara of North Africa. Those ears aren’t just for looking ridiculously cute… they’re used to help dissipate heat! As you can imagine, they also hear exceptionally well with these huge ears, listening for small, tasty insects moving underground. If you see one staring at the ground and turning its head from side to side, he is pinpointing the location of a sound! Their fur, which is creamy colored and delightfully fluffy, also helps deflect heat during the day (while keeping them toasty warm at night).

Awww, fennec kissies!

These foxes live for about 14 squee-inducing years in captivity, and are sometimes kept as exotic pets. And unlike the poor red pandas, they aren’t endangered! Yay! They’re too small to bother livestock, which keeps them from being harmed by farmers. 

Photo by Francisco Mingorance.

Fennec foxes are very social with one another, remaining with their family even after bearing and raising their young. They mate for life, with each family living in its own territory.  They breed and make more adorable squee-inducing foxes about once per year in litters of 1-4 kits.