The Sahara desert covers up to 6% of the world’s land. However, this vast and harsh place is home to the Fennec fox (desert fox), the world’s smallest wild species of the Canine family. This is an animal that can survive in the desert without drinking water.
Desert foxes have sand-colored fur that helps them to be less noticeable when they come out of their shelters to find food. In addition, this small animal often dodges, jumps, and uses dunes to hide its location.
When night falls, the sands that radiate heat during the day become cold again. Temperatures can plummet below freezing. The sudden cold was even worse than the heat. However, thanks to the thick fur of the desert fox, which has an insulating effect, it helps this animal roam for food at night.
Why Does The Desert Fox Not Need To Drink Water?
The desert fox’s small body doesn’t need much food. But because they are omnivores, they can find all sorts of things around the desert to fill their hungry stomachs, such as insects, berries, roots, or even food debris.
The desert is exceptionally harsh; even though there is food, there is no water. Fortunately, the desert fox’s kidneys work very well. This is also the only Dog family member who does not need to drink water. Instead, desert foxes can get all the water they need from their food.
The desert fox evolved when the desert first appeared. Therefore, other than them, no other dog species can overcome the challenges of the desert.
Although only about the size of a walking boot and weighing only about 1 kg, the desert fox can live well in the desert daily.
The Sahara contains millions of grains of sand. Each bead acts as a heat sink. Sand absorbs heat; the hotter it gets, the more heat it gives off. The average temperature in this desert can reach nearly 40 degrees Celsius.
In such hot conditions, the desert fox’s diminutive size is handy. Because their small bodies help them radiate heat faster than large bodies. Moreover, the coat of this animal is long, thick, and soft with an inner undercoat, which protects them from the heat of the day.
In addition, to cool down even more quickly, their large ears act like sophisticated air conditioners. Each ear of the desert fox has a network of capillaries, which fill with blood when the temperature rises rapidly.
They help fight the heat, and giant ears also support the desert fox to become a formidable “ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ” at night. Their keen hearing enables them to detect prey like insects and reptiles in the dark.
In particular, the desert fox has another way of cooling. It stays in the cave during the day. It is very familiar with its environment. Specifically, moisture is often concentrated at the foot of the dunes, so the sand in the desert is sturdy enough to dig a cave. To avoid the harsh heat of the Saharan Sun, desert foxes will choose to shelter in caves and come out to feed at night.
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