World's Smallest Wild Dog - Dogs in the Wild meet with family #wildlife - video Dailymotion

World's Smallest Wild Dog - Dogs in the Wild meet with family #wildlife

Transcript

00:005.5 million square miles of sand, the size of China.

00:10The Sahara smothers 6% of the world's land.

00:15Yet this vast, unforgiving place is home to the world's smallest wild dog, the fennec fox.

00:37Barely the size of a walking boot, this tiny fox goes head-to-head with the desert every day.

00:48The Sahara's filled with millions upon millions of grains of sand.

00:54And every grain acts as a radiator.

00:58Sand absorbs heat, and the hotter it gets, the more heat it radiates.

01:06The temperature here spirals to over 100 degrees.

01:14In such sizzling conditions, the fennec's size matters.

01:19A small body can shed heat faster than a large one.

01:22And to lose heat even faster, the fennec's ears act like sophisticated air-conditioning units.

01:30The network of veins cools the blood to lower the temperature.

01:38Despite such capable cooling, not even a fennec can withstand such heat.

01:44There's no shade, but fennecs are masters of their environment.

01:50Moisture concentrates at the foot of the dunes, so the sand here is firm enough to dig a burrow.

01:59Home sweet home, the Sahara.

02:02They have shelter from the worst of the heat, but they must eventually leave the safety of their den to find food.

02:14The Sahara is home to the largest fennec population in the world.

02:19The Sahara is home to the largest fennec population in the world.

02:24The Sahara is home to the largest fennec population in the world.

02:29And this enormous desert is a dangerous place for a tiny wild dog.

02:36And this enormous desert is a dangerous place for a tiny wild dog.

02:40An unwary fennec is small enough to be caught by feral dogs and even eagle owls.

02:50But their camouflaged coats make them less conspicuous.

02:54In the fading light of dusk, she makes a run for it.

03:00Zigzagging and jumping.

03:05She uses the dunes to mask her location.

03:09The grains of sand are constantly shifting, but the pads on her feet are furry for maximum traction.

03:17Few can keep tabs on her whereabouts.

03:20Few can keep tabs on her whereabouts.