FENNEL, the name applied to several desert-dwelling species of fox, characterized by the great length of the ears and small size. The true fennec ( Vulpes zerda) inhabits North Africa and is pale in colour with a short, black-tipped tail. South of the Zambezi the group reappears, being represented by the ass-fox (V. cama), a dark-coloured, long-tailed species. The northern fennec (V . famelicus) is intermediate between the fennecs and typical foxes. (See Fox.)