With its oversized ears and soft brown eyes, the world’s smallest canid is also probably the cutest. But being adorable has turned out to be lethal for the Fennec Fox in Tunisia, where both locals and tourists are loving the species to death. 

Life is rough for desert dwellers in North Africa, where the sun beats down on the sand year round, and water and food are scarce. But the Fennec Fox has developed numerous traits over the years that have allowed its populations to flourish throughout the Sahara and on towards Sinai.

Relatively little is known about the nocturnal Fennec’s biology, except that its disproportionately large ears not only allow it to root out food, but also help to regulate body temperature. It also burrows itself in the sand – either to escape from predators or to hide from the Saharan sun.

While the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists Vulpes zerda as of least concern on their red list of threatened species, photographer Bruno D’Amicis discovered a disturbing trend that threatens the species during the two years he spent photographing the animal in Tunisia with support from National Geographic.

He found that nomadic people frequently capture the fox both as pets and to make a few dinar off tourists. D’Amicis won first prize for a single photograph in the Nature category of the 2014 World Press photography competition for an image of a captive Fennec he discovered that was kept as a pet for a small child.

The image depicts a petrified animal chained to a wheel rim in a sheep pen that appears to be absolutely petrified. Thanks to his efforts, the owners eventually freed the animal, but it is unlikely to have survived.

In the comment section of a blog post that National Geographic published about his work, D’Amicis laments the Fennec’s plight but urges readers to think about the problem’s roots.

Related: Tunisia’s environmental progress slides back 25 years

“The story of this unlucky fox is unfortunately just one among many that suffer from the same conditions, and so many other species are facing a similar situation!” he wrote. “One could surely release all of them, a few perhaps will survive, but the main problem will remain: what should be really done is addressing the primary cause.”

The primary cause, according to him, is lack of education and financial security. In 2009, Maureen McKamey, then a Drake University student, relayed a similar story that suggests that D’Amicis may be right.

She tells the story of a nomadic woman who appeared from behind a dune dragging a small Fennec attached to a chain. The old woman asked Maureen and her team if they would like to photograph the fox for a single dinar. Of course the tourists were mortified, and debated buying the Fennec so that they could release it back into the wild, but the guide cautioned against it, since that is exactly what the old woman was hoping would happen.

D’Amicis says that he refused to pay to photograph the captive fox he photographed and urges other travelers to the region to do the same.

Long aware of the problem, the Tunisian government aired a television program that appealed to the population’s sympathy for the small desert creature. The star was Labib the Fennec Fox. Sadly, they eventually declared the program a failure.

:: Proof, National Geographic

Desert fox in desert, Fennec Fox sleeping / Shutterstock

The post Cuteness is a curse for the adorable Fennec Fox appeared first on Green Prophet.

An amateur photographer has captured the most telling image of Dubai to date, winning a National Geographic photo competition for his effort. We’ve seen this Emirate from the underground metro, holiday shots depict its scraper-spattered skyline, and many a curious streetwalker has tweaked their neck to see the tip of the Burj from the ground. But this latest image demonstrates to what extent Emaar Properties, the Burj Khalifa’s ambitious developers, reached for the clouds when they conceived the world’s tallest building.

Wijnand Van Till – a 34 year old Dutch Citizen currently working in Dubai’s telecommunications industry –  explained to The National how the photo came about.

“It was just a lucky shot,” he told the paper. “It proves that you should always keep your camera close by.”

Lucky for him, Mr. Van Till’s happy snapping produced a timeless image chosen as the best out of a pool of 20,000 hopefuls. He traveled last Wednesday to the Royal Tropical Institute accept first place in the landscape category of the Netherlands edition of National Geographic.

Some people feel lucky when they win on slots: Even though the expatriate is not a professional photographer, Jochem Wijnands, a National Geographic photographer and one of the judges said that Mr. Van Till deserved to win because of his “go-getting attitude.”

“For us, this kind of image was spectacular, like something from another world,” Mr. Wijnands said.

Meanwhile, the image of Dubai peering through last April’s clouds has also gained mileage within the Emirates, receiving recognition for being the overall winner in the Canon Competition. In addition to organizing this competition, the Dubai-based photographers group Gulf Photo Plus is nourishing other promising photographers with workshops and exhibitions.

“Photography in the area is rapidly improving,” said Mohamed Somji, the organisation’s director. The group currently has 14,000 members.

Mr. Van Till won an all-expenses paid trip to Kenya, where he hopes to expand his photographic repertoire.

:: The National

More about Dubai:

More Signs Of Dubai’s Foul Ecology At Jumeirah Islands

Burj Khalifa Takes Project of the Year At Middle East Architecture Awards

Dubai Gas Stations Running Out of Gas

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