First quantitative data on the diet of the fennec fox, vulpes zerda (Canidae, Carnivora), in Algeria

Abstract

The diet of fennec fox has been investigated for the first time from scats collected during one year in three localities of the north-eastern Algerian Sahara: Guemar and Sanderouce (near Oued Souf) and Bamendil (near Ouargla). In Guemar, 160 items in 20 scats were identified including 93 insects (58.1%), 11 plant fragments (6.9%) and 38 dates of Phoenix dactylifera (23.8%). In terms of biomass, with 37.4% plant material was the most abundant, followed by birds (29.9%) and mammals (14.9%). In Sanderouce, 491 items in 37 scats were identified including 377 insects (77.1%), 10 plant fragments (2.0%) and 29 dates (5.9%). In terms of biomass mammals (56.6%) were far more abundant than squamates (15.4%) and vegetal food (12.8%). In Bamendil, 1246 items in 57 scats were identified; insects were the most numerous (87.9%) followed by mammals (only 3.7%), however the biomass of mammals was the highest (63.5%) followed by birds (19.8%) and insects (5.5%). As was suggested by behavioral records, the diet of the fennec fox was mainly carnivorous, but included a significant amount of vegetal items, particularly dates collected in oases.