Tizga the Fennec Fox

Tizga settled in well to his new home at Adelaide Zoo and he really enjoys the company of his female house mate Kira. His health has been great and keepers are looking into training him in some cooperative behaviors to assist in the day to day care of the Fennec Foxes.

Adelaide Zoo Keeper, Chris Fulton, said “He is a very active little chap and he interacts with both the public and the keepers very well”.

The Fennec Fox is a small nocturnal fox found along the northern rim of the Sahara Desert of North Africa and across the Arabian peninsula. Its most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears. These ears are one of the adatpations that allow the Fennec fox to cool down in the hot desert climate it lives in.

Taronga Zoo Keeper Deb Price still misses Tizga who she hand raised from birth. To hand raise an animal requires round the clock care just like a human baby with feeding times throughout the day and night. Deb plans to go and see Tizga should he become a father any time soon, which would be a great achievement for the diversity of the species.