Fennec fox  (Vulpes zerda)

Dogs and humans are thought to pose the greatest threat to the fennec fox (2). In northern Africa the fennec fox is hunted and trapped, and sold commercially. They are captured for the pet trade, sold to locals to be raised for meat, or killed for their fur which is used by the indigenous people of northern Africa (5). They are also killed by domestic dogs (2). These threats have resulted in a decline in numbers in certain populations in north-western Africa (2), and new permanent human settlements, such as those in southern Morocco, have resulted in the disappearance of fennec foxes from those areas (4).

The fennec fox is listed on Appendix II of the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means that international trade in this species should be carefully regulated (3). Its conservation status has not yet been assessed as it was deemed that there was too little information to determine its risk of extinction (1). The fennec fox is legally protected in Morocco (5), and occurs in a number of protected areas throughout its range, such as Bir El Abd Conservation Area in Egypt, and Aïr and Tenere National Reserve in Niger (5). Fennec foxes have been bred in captivity, which has increased knowledge of this species, and yet much remains unknown of their behaviour and ecology in the wild. Further studies on wild populations are needed to enable the conservation status of the fennec fox to be assessed (1) (5).