It is without a doubt that fennec foxes are some of the cutest mammals out there, but even more so when they are little babies. But how exactly do they reproduce? Fennec foxes mate for life. They find their life long partner when they reach “sexual maturity” at about 9-12 months old. Two foxes interested in “dating” will spend lots of time with each other, but another common tactic is their mating dance. To get the attention of a male fennec fox, the female will hold her tail horizontally and twitch it to one side [San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance].
The female fennec fox is an example of an “monestrous” mammal meaning that they experience an estrous cycle only once a year. However, Lariviere noted that this was not always the case. If a female fennec fox lost her litter, they would sometimes try one or two more times to conceive, so they are not fully monestrous, but neither polyestrous due to the fact that they typically only experience a cycle annually. Before the female fennec fox experiences her estrous, there is an increase in vulval length a few days prior (Valdestino et. al pg. 101-2). It was also noted that the testicular activity of the male fennec foxes were in sync with the cycle of their mate (Larviere pg. 714).
Reproduction occurs once per year in these pairs, typically during 4-6 week mating period from January to February that gives birth to a litter of 2-5 pups [Smithsonian’s National Zoo]. Though this mating period lasts a while, female fennec foxes only experience estrus for 1-2 days, during which they are able to reproduce. After a 50-53 day gestation period, these pups are born between March-April [LafeberVet]. However, the female's only job during this time is to take care of herself and the growing pups. During the gestation period, the male fennec fox will protect their mate by defending them and bring them food until the pups are about a month old.
These pups are taken care of via nursing until they are about 10 weeks old [Smithsonian’s National Zoo]. While our developmental milestones may take years, time moves fast for these pups. It is not until they are about 8 days old that they will open their eyes for the first time. At about 14 days they begin walking, wrapping up the end of their “newborn” stage. It is not until they are 9-11 months old that they are considered mature adults, where they are then able to start mating and reproducing themselves [San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance].