Reportages - Spirit of the Sahara (56) Images supplémentaires...
Fennecs are the world’s smallest fox species, living in the world’s largest desert. They are extremely elusive, and their habitat is very difficult to explore. With their massive, radar-shaped ears, fennecs can hear the click of a camera shutter from 150 metres away! Documenting them was not going to be an easy task for photographer Bruno D’Amicis.

‘Seeing a fennec fox in the wild was a dream from my childhood that took me 25 years to fulfil,’ says D’Amicis. Working extensively in southern Tunisia, he spent two years trying to gain an insight into the life of the fennec fox, as well as its exploitation by humans. Battling political instability, frequent sandstorms and illegal trade, D’Amicis persevered where others might have given up.

‘I wish I never had to witness the sad situations of fennecs captured and exploited for trade, and was instead left to treasure the precious moments I had watching them among the silent and ephemeral dunes,' he says. 'But I firmly believe their story is one worth telling in its entirety.’

Download our full story PDF, including text, here.

Young Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) cub, offered for sale to the photographer by the young man who trapped it in the desert. Kebili Region, Tunisia. May 2014. Winner of the World in our Hands category, Wi...
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Bruno D'Amicis / Young Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) cub, offered for sale to the photographer by the young man who trapped it in the desert. Kebili Region, Tunisia. May 2014. Winner of the World in our Hands category, Wi...
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) adult at night digging for prey among the roots of Retam broom shrub. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate, Tunisia.  Taken with remote camera trap.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) adult at night digging for prey among the roots of Retam broom shrub. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate, Tunisia. Taken with remote camera trap.
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) adult female on sand dunes, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) adult female on sand dunes, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) adult near the den, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate, Tunisia
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) adult near the den, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate, Tunisia
Beetle (Tenebrio sp) walking on sand dune in the Sahara desert, Erg Chebbi, Southern Morocco, NW Africa
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Bruno D'Amicis / Beetle (Tenebrio sp) walking on sand dune in the Sahara desert, Erg Chebbi, Southern Morocco, NW Africa
Tenebrionid beetle (Tenebrionidae) crossing Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) tracks on sand. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Tenebrionid beetle (Tenebrionidae) crossing Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) tracks on sand. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) pup outside of den, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) pup outside of den, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) pups playing outside. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) pups playing outside. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
Sun filtering through sand during severe sandstorm. Grand Erg Oriental, Tunisia
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Bruno D'Amicis / Sun filtering through sand during severe sandstorm. Grand Erg Oriental, Tunisia
Italian photographer Bruno D'Amicis waiting for sandstorm to pass in concrete hut in the desert. on assignment to photograph Fennec foxes (Vulpes zerda) Tunisia, May 2012.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Italian photographer Bruno D'Amicis waiting for sandstorm to pass in concrete hut in the desert. on assignment to photograph Fennec foxes (Vulpes zerda) Tunisia, May 2012.
Car used by Italian photographer Bruno D'Amicis on assignment to photograph Fennec foxes (Vulpes zerda), Tunisia. January 2013.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Car used by Italian photographer Bruno D'Amicis on assignment to photograph Fennec foxes (Vulpes zerda), Tunisia. January 2013.