Editing Fennec fox (section)

=== Predators, parasites and diseases ===
African [[horned owl]] species such as the [[Pharaoh eagle-owl]] prey on fennec fox pups. Anecdotal reports exist about [[jackal]]s and [[striped hyena]]s also preying on the fennec fox. But according to nomads, the fennec fox is fast and changes directions so well that even their [[Saluki]]s are hardly ever able to capture it.<ref name=Asa_al2004/>

Captive fennec foxes are susceptible to [[canine distemper virus]], displaying fever, mucopurulent ocular discharge, [[diarrhea]], severe [[emaciation]], seizures, generalized [[ataxia]], severe [[dehydration]], brain congestion, gastric ulcers and death. Stress because of capture and long-distance transportation are thought to be the causes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Woo |first1=G.-H. |last2=Jho |first2=Y.-S. |last3=Bak |first3=E.-J. |title=Canine distemper virus infection in Fennec Fox (''Vulpes zerda'') |journal=Journal of Veterinary Medical Science |date=2010 |volume=72 |issue=8 |pages=1075–1079 |doi=10.1292/jvms.09-0510|pmid=20299771 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2012, a study reported a case of ''[[Trichophyton mentagrophytes]]'', a [[fungus]] species, in a 2-year-old male. It died not too long after contracting the pathogen from [[Anorexia (symptom)|anorexia]] and [[Jaundice|icterus]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pressanti |first1=Charline |last2=Delverdier |first2=Maxence |last3=Iriart |first3=Xavier |last4=Morcel |first4=Frédérique |last5=Cadiergues |first5=Marie-Christine |date=2012 |title=A case of Trichophyton mentagrophytes infection in a fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-3164.2012.01077.x |journal=Veterinary Dermatology |volume=23 |issue=5 |pages=456–e87 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-3164.2012.01077.x |pmid=22822716 |issn=1365-3164}}</ref> A 2019 review of the deaths of fennec foxes due to medical conditions or pathogens at the [[Bronx Zoo|Bronx]] and [[Prospect Park Zoo]]s since 1980 found that the majority of such deaths were attributed to [[Neoplasm|neoplasia]] and [[infection]]. Most foxes developed infections or medical conditions from [[atopic dermatitis]] and other dermatologic dliseases, as well as trauma.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Figueroa |first1=Rachael |last2=Oliveira |first2=Ryan D. |last3=Sykes |first3=John M. |date=July 2023 |title=A 40-year (1980–2019) Retrospective review of morbidity and mortality of fennec foxes (Vulpes Zerda) at the Bronx and Prospect Park Zoos |url=https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-zoo-and-wildlife-medicine/volume-54/issue-2/2022-0167/A-40-YEAR-19802019-RETROSPECTIVE-REVIEW-OF-MORBIDITY-AND-MORTALITY/10.1638/2022-0167.short |journal=Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine |language=en |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=252–261 |doi=10.1638/2022-0167 |pmid=37428687 |issn=1042-7260 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241211204959/https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-zoo-and-wildlife-medicine/volume-54/issue-2/2022-0167/A-40-YEAR-19802019-RETROSPECTIVE-REVIEW-OF-MORBIDITY-AND-MORTALITY/10.1638/2022-0167.short |archive-date=2024-12-11|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Parasites known to infect the fennec fox include [[Nematode|roundworm]]s such as ''[[Capillaria (nematode)|Capillaria]]''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Taki |first1=Yahya |last2=Bourquia |first2=Maria |date=2024-04-30 |title=Gastrointestinal and respiratory parasites in captive mammals at Rabat zoo, with the first record of Capillaria spp. in the Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) |url=https://veterinariaitaliana.izs.it/index.php/VetIt/article/view/2856 |journal=Veterinaria Italiana |language=en |volume=59 |issue=3 |doi=10.12834/VetIt.2856.19877.2 |pmid=38686838 |issn=1828-1427}}</ref> and ''[[Angiostrongylus vasorum]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Galietta |first1=Valentina |last2=Eleni |first2=Claudia |last3=Raso |first3=Caterina |last4=Cocumelli |first4=Cristiano |last5=Friedrich |first5=Klaus G. |last6=Di Cerbo |first6=Pilar |last7=Iurescia |first7=Manuela |last8=Diaconu |first8=Elena L. |last9=Alba |first9=Patricia |last10=De Liberato |first10=Claudio |date=September 2022 |title=Systemic Infection by Angiostrongylus vasorum in a Fennec (Vulpes zerda) in an Italian Zoological Garden |journal=Pathogens |language=en |volume=11 |issue=9 |pages=965 |doi=10.3390/pathogens11090965 |issn=2076-0817 |pmc=9505467 |pmid=36145397 |doi-access=free}}</ref> as well as the [[alveolate]] ''[[Toxoplasma gondii]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kottwitz |first1=Jack J. |last2=Preziosi |first2=Diane E. |last3=Miller |first3=Margaret A. |last4=Ramos-Vara |first4=Jose A. |last5=Maggs |first5=David J. |last6=Bonagura |first6=John D. |date=2004-11-01 |title=Heart Failure Caused by Toxoplasmosis in a Fennec Fox (Fennecus zerda) |url=https://meridian.allenpress.com/jaaha/article-abstract/40/6/501/176124/Heart-Failure-Caused-by-Toxoplasmosis-in-a-Fennec |journal=Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association |volume=40 |issue=6 |pages=501–507 |doi=10.5326/0400501 |pmid=15533972 |issn=0587-2871|url-access=subscription }}</ref>