Test, ears, and whole kit and kaboodle

Oh the indignity... a baby fennec fox - or kit - is examined before its vaccination and microchipping at Adelaide Zoo. Picture: Campbell Brodie Source: adelaidenow

WITH a loving nudge, one of Adelaide Zoo's latest additions has received some affectionate attention from her protective mother.

The unnamed, female fennec fox kit keeps close to mum, Amber, and dad, Tizga, in the zoo's fox exhibit, opposite the African lions.

Adelaidenow got up close with the eight-week-old during her first health check-up, during which she was microchipped, vaccinated and weighed, tipping the scales at 518g. 

Senior carnivore keeper Steve McKee said the fox's birth followed the birth of twins to the other fennec fox family at the zoo last October, lifting their population to seven.

The kit is microchipped by zoo vet Jerome Kalvas and Paula Modra, senior vet nurse. Picture: Campbell Brodie

"She is coming out more readily (in public view) these days and this should continue to be for longer periods as she gets older,'' Mr McKee said.

This is the first kit born to Amber and Tizga. "Both parents were hand-raised and unproven breeders, so it's very exciting to see this pair successfully breed," he said. 

The fennec fox is a small nocturnal animal found in the Sahara of North Africa.

The painful bit - she's vaccinated by zoo vet Jerome Kalvas and Paula Modra, senior vet nurse. Picture: Campbell Brodie

All the zoo's fennec foxes are valuable additions to the Australasian region, according to the keeper.

"This will help management of the species and provide the region with better breeding options," he said.

And a kiss from mum, back safe in her habitat after the check-up. Picture: Campbell Brodie

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