Longleat keepers helping raise fennec fox kits

Fennec foxes have been successfully bred at Longleat for the first time.

The two kits, weighing just 110g, and are now being hand-reared at the Wiltshire safari park, after their mother lost a previous litter because she could not produce enough milk.

A third kit was born in the same litter, but died shortly after birth.

Fennec foxes are native to the deserts of North Africa, and use their unusually large ears to hunt prey, including small mammals and insects underground.

Longleat keeper Samantha Peeke had to stay at Longleat overnight, along with colleagues Gemma Short and Catriona Moy, as the babies initially needed feeding every two hours, day and night.

“We are now feeding them every three hours with a longer break overnight,” Samantha added.

"We are sharing the care so they don’t get attached to one of us as the aim is to reintroduce them to their mum and dad.

"Eventually we hope they will also become part of the international breeding programme."

The decision to hand-rear the kits was a last resort, Longleat said.

Mother Zuri and father Enzi previously had another litter, but the first kits died within 24 hours of birth, as Zuri did not produce enough milk.

Catriona, Team Manager of Animal Adventure and Lakes at Longleat, said: “After she lost the first three, we spent time preparing for the possibility of a further litter.

"We wanted to ensure that knowing she may not produce enough milk that we had everything in place in case it was required to help Zuri care for the young."

Sadly for the keepers, there were also issues with the second litter,

“When cameras in the den showed Zuri had given birth to three kits, we watched closely so not to disturb her," said Catriona.

"Zuri showed good mothering behaviours; however, it then became clear she was struggling with all three.

"This combined with previous history led us to make the difficult decision to remove two to give mum the best chance to successfully raise a kit.

"Unfortunately, despite Zuri’s best effort, sadly the kit that remained with her passed away.”

The plan is to reintroduce the two surviving fennec fox kits to their parents in the summer, as their birth is said to be important to the European breeding programme.