274 THE FENNEC. 



and canine analogies, for the common Fox is remarkably fond of ripe fruits, such as grapes or 

 strawberries, and the domestic dog is too often a depredator of those very gardens which he 

 was enjoined to keep clear from robbers. But that the animal should enjoy the power of pro- 

 curing that food in which it so delights is a very extraordinary circumstance, and one which 

 would hardly be expected from a creature which partakes so largely of the vulpine form and 

 characteristics. The date-palm is a tree of a very lofty growth, and the rich clusters of the 

 fruit are placed at the very summit of the bare, branchless stem. Yet the Fennec is said to 

 to be able to climb the trunk of the date-palm, and so procure for itself the coveted luxury. 



This creature presents so strange a medley of characteristics that it has proved a sad stum- 

 bling-block to systematic zoologists, and has been so frequently transferred by them from one 

 portion of the animal kingdom to another, that its position in their catalogues seems to vary 

 as often as the different lists are published. One celebrated naturalist considers the Fennec to 

 belong to the civets and genetts ; another ranks it with the hyenas ; while a third believes 

 that its true position is among the Galagos. Xow, however, it finds a resting-place in the 

 genus Vulpes, being a congener with the various foxes of the Old and New Worlds. 



It must here be remembered that the generic distinction of dogs and foxes can hardly be 

 regarded as a settled matter, and that many practical naturalists favor the opinion that the 

 foxes ought to be included in the genus "Canis." That the dog and the fox will produce a 

 mixed offspring is now generally allowed. There are many authenticated accounts of such 

 mixed breeds, dating from the earlier part of the present century up to the present time. 

 Moreover, it has been found that the offspring of the dog and the fox is capable of reproduc- 

 tion when it is again crossed with the dog. Should this experiment be successfully conducted 

 to a still further extent, and the vulpo-canine offspring of both sexes be found capable of 

 mutual reproduction, the difficult question to which we have referred will be finally solved. 



Like the veritable foxes, the Fennec is accustomed to dwell in subterranean abodes, which 

 it scoops in the light sandy soil of its native land. Bruce, who claims the honor of introducing 

 this curious little animal to zoological science, avers that it builds its nest in trees. Ruppell, 

 however, who may lay claim to more scientific knowledge than was possessed by Bruce, dis- 

 tinctly contradicts this statement, and asserts that it lives in "burrows" like other foxes. 



This curious little animal is not entirely without its use to man ; for its fur is of consider- 

 able value among the native tribes of the locality wherein it is found. The skin of the Fennec, 

 called "motlose" in the native dialect, is said to furnish the wannest fur in Africa, and is 

 highly prized for that quality. And as, on account of the diminutive size of the animal, a 

 single skin forms but a very small portion of a garment, a mantle which is composed of "mot- 

 lose" fur is valued very highly, and can with difficulty be purchased from its dark owner. 



As is the case with the greater number of predaceous animals, the Fennec is but seldom 

 seen during the daytime, preferring to issue forth upon its marauding expeditions under the 

 friendly cover of night. Even when it has spent some time in captivity, it retains its restless 

 nocturnal demeanor, and during the hours of daylight passes the greater portion of its time in 

 semi-somnolence or in actual sleep. On a comparison with the Otocyon, the Fennec appears 

 at first sight to bear so close a resemblance to that animal that either of the two creatures 

 might easily be mistaken for the other. The slender body, the bushy tail, the sharply pointed 

 snout, and the extraordinarily long ears, are so conspicuously notable that the two animals 

 have frequently been confounded together, and actually figured under the same title. Yet 

 the distinguishing characteristics are so strongly marked as to justify their separation, not 

 only into different species, but into different genera. 



It is a quaint little creature in its aspect, and wears an air of precocious self-reliance that 

 has quite a ludicrous effect in so small an animal. The color of its eyes is a beautiful blue, 

 and the "whisker" hairs which decorate its face are long and thick in their texture, and 

 white in their color. The honor of introducing the Fennec into Europe is claimed by two 

 persons ; the one being Bruce, the celebrated traveller, and the other being a Swedish gentle- 

 man of the name of Skioldebrand. The latter writer was certainly the first person who pub- 

 licly brought the Fennec before the zoologists of Europe, but is supposed to have succeeded in 

 his ambition by means which were hardly just or honorable. 



