The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Fennec

FENNEC, a small desert animal (Canisor Fennecus zerda) found in the Sahara, which looks like a diminutive fox. It is of a pale creamy yellow color, harmonizing well with its sandy habitat; its breast is white and the tail tipped with black. It is a graceful little animal, about 15 inches long, with a bushy tail about 7 inches in length, and its small face and large erect ears give it an expression of attentive hearkening for unseen foes. It burrows into the sand and can dig so rapidly as to escape pursuers. It is, like most of its kind, nocturnal in habits, searching for water and its food — small birds, mice and insects — after the sun sets, spending the day curled up in its burrow.