Feature Stories - Spirit of the Sahara (56) More files...
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.’

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Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) tracks on sand dune. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) tracks on sand dune. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
Rhim or Slender-horned gazelle (Gazella leptoceros loderi)  Great Erg Oriental, Tunisia. Endangered.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Rhim or Slender-horned gazelle (Gazella leptoceros loderi) Great Erg Oriental, Tunisia. Endangered.
Brown-necked raven (Corvus ruficollis) sitting atop a dune, Tunisian Sahara, Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Brown-necked raven (Corvus ruficollis) sitting atop a dune, Tunisian Sahara, Tunisia.
Desert monitor (Varanus griseus) moving across sand dunes,  showing characteristic tracks, in the Sahara, Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Desert monitor (Varanus griseus) moving across sand dunes, showing characteristic tracks, in the Sahara, Tunisia.
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) female nursing pups,  Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) female nursing pups, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) female with pups outside of den, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) female with pups outside of den, 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) 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 of burrow, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) pups playing outside of burrow, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) walking through dunes with starry sky. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate, Tunisia. Taken with camera trap.
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) walking through dunes with starry sky. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate, Tunisia. Taken with camera trap.
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) adult in sand dunes at night, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate, Tunisia. Camera trap image
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Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) adult in sand dunes at night, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate, Tunisia. Camera trap image
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) adult at night among desert vegetation. 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 among desert vegetation. Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate, Tunisia. Taken with remote camera trap.