Editing Fennec fox (section)

== Interactions with humans ==

=== In culture ===
{{See also|Foxes in popular culture}}
[[File:Die Gartenlaube (1875) b 033.jpg|thumb|alt="A greyscale sketch of a group of long eared foxes on a rocky outcrop in a desert. There is a crumbling brick building to the left and two of the foxes are on lookout."|A drawing of a skulk of fennec foxes by [[Gustav Mützel]], 1876]]

The fennec fox is the [[National symbols of Algeria|national animal]] of [[Algeria]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Hodges |first=K. |year=2012 |title=National Animals of African Countries |url=http://african.howzit.msn.com/national-animals-of-african-countries?page=10 |access-date=19 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225172955/http://african.howzit.msn.com/national-animals-of-african-countries?page=10 |archive-date=25 February 2014}}</ref> It also serves as the nickname for the [[Algeria national football team]] "Les Fennecs".<ref>{{cite web |author=Fifa |title=Paris salutes Les Fennecs |date=2009 |publisher=Fifa |url=http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid%3D1137333/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601025618/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid%3D1137333/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-06-01}}</ref> The species is depicted in ''[[The Little Prince]]'', a 1943 novella by [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]] which follows the story of a pilot who is forced to make an emergency plane landing in the remote Sahara Desert.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-11-01 |title=The Amazigh Adventures of Le Petit Prince |url=https://www.aramcoworld.com/articles/2017/the-amazigh-adventures-of-le-petit-prince |access-date=2025-01-06 |website=www.aramcoworld.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2000, the fennec fox was portrayed on the cover of a  [[Ranger Rick|''Ranger Rick'' magazine]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dobrin |first1=Sidney I. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWO3VdPs8wIC&dq=fennec+fox+human+culture+literature&pg=PA168 |title=Wild Things: Children's Culture and Ecocriticism |last2=Kidd |first2=Kenneth B. |date=2004 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-3028-9 |pages=168 |language=en}}</ref> In [[Roman literature|Roman art and literature]], there is dearth of depictions of fox species in general. However, according to [[Martial's Epigrams|Martial's ''Epigrams'']] which describes the "long-eared fox" as a popular pet, it is likely that the fennec fox was kept as an exotic pet in the [[Roman Empire|Roman empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Sian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GvJFDwAAQBAJ&dq=Fennec+fox+in+literature&pg=PT372 |title=The Culture of Animals in Antiquity: A Sourcebook with Commentaries |last2=Llewellyn-Jones |first2=Lloyd |date=2018-01-09 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-78249-4 |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, the species has made appearances as ''Fenneko'' in the animed TV series ''[[Aggretsuko]].''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hanaway |first=Tom |date=2018-05-19 |title=Sanrio characters in 'Aggretsuko' reflect the realities of life at work — rage included |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/05/19/national/media-national/sanrio-characters-reflect-realities-life-work-rage-included/ |access-date=2025-01-06 |website=The Japan Times |language=en}}</ref>

=== In captivity ===

The fennec fox is bred commercially as an [[exotic pet]].<ref name=Asa2013/> Commercial breeders remove the pups from their mother to hand-raise them, as tame foxes are more valuable. A breeders' registry has been set up in the United States to avoid any problems associated with inbreeding.<ref>{{cite book |title=Domestication |last=Roots |first=C. |year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood |location=Westport |isbn=978-0-313-33987-5 |pages=113–114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tbz2mkzbpw8C}}</ref> As of 2020, 15 US states authorized the ownership of foxes without the need for a document, although one is also allowed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Misfeldt |first=Abigail |date=2020-01-01 |title=To what extent has the relationship between humans and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) evolved throughout history? |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/envstudtheses/283/#:~:text=Red%20foxes%20are%20one%20of,or%20simply%20a%20neutral%20one. |journal=Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses}}</ref> Due to poor diet, captive foxes have been known to grow to abnormally large sizes.<ref name=":3" />

Captive foxes have often been recorded exhibiting [[Stereotypy|stereotyped behaviors]]; this may due to the insufficient environments they are placed in. When noises from [[zookeeper]]s and visitors alike are produced, foxes often respond by pacing repeatedly. Similarly, in one case, two male individuals in the [[National Zoological Park (United States)|National Zoological Park]] spend the majority of their time pacing around their enclosures. It is suggested that larger, outdoor, enclosures may help reduce stereotyped behaviors, as they provide more space for foxes to flee from perceived danger and hide in a provided safe spot.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carlstead |first=Kathy |date=1991 |title=Husbandry of the Fennec fox: Fennecus zerda: environmental conditions influencing stereotypic behaviour |url=https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1748-1090.1991.tb03487.x |journal=International Zoo Yearbook |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=202–207 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1991.tb03487.x |issn=1748-1090}}</ref>