Imagine trying to survive in the sandy Sahara Desert in North Africa. For many animals, a habitat like this would be impossible. Yet the fennec fox, a mammal about 40 centimeters long, not counting its tail, thrives there, thanks to features that scientists call adaptations: traits that help a living thing survive in its environment.
Consider huge ears up to 15 centimeters long: this adaptation let heat escape from its body and help it hear insects moving under the sand. Equally important is thick fur on the bottoms of its feet, which protects its paws from the burning sand. Without these traits, the fennec fox would struggle to last a single season.
As an omnivore, the fennec fox is an animal that eats both plants and animals; it depends on insects, small rodents and roots and fruit. Its behavior matters as much as its body: it rests in a cool burrow during the hot day and comes out at night. Behaviors like this are adaptations too, even though you cannot see them in a photograph.
The next generation faces the same challenges. Young fennec foxes, called kits, depend on their surroundings and on adult care. Kits are born in an underground den and start exploring outside at about four weeks old.
Perhaps most remarkable of all: the fennec fox is the smallest fox in the world. Facts like this remind us that every animal's body tells a story about the place it lives.