Series description
In The Little Prince, written by the French pilot and writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the titular character meets a fox. Most people have no idea that the creature in question is a desert fox, which holds particular significance for Saint-Exupéry: when he crashed his plane in the North African Sahara Desert, these desert animals kept him company for several days.
Biography
I studied computer science at the University of Pardubice. After school I founded an advertising studio, to which I added a printing house, a publishing house and a photo studio. Since 2014 I have been using drones for my work with the Dronfoto project.
I have been taking photographs since childhood, professionally since 2018, when I succeeded in the Czech Press Photo photography competition as the winner of the entire year of the competition.
Fennec Fox Lying by a Bush
This female fennec was lying near her burrow by a bush that grew out of the sand in the dunes. It was the only bush for miles.
© Lukas Zeman, Czechia, Shortlist, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Fennec in All its Glory
The fennec fox, also known as the Berber fennec (Vulpes zerda). This desert carnivore is the world's smallest fox, but has the largest ears of any canid compared to its body size.
© Lukas Zeman, Czechia, Shortlist, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
The Fennec Family
After watching the female for a while, two cubs jumped out of her burrow and started to play.
© Lukas Zeman, Czechia, Shortlist, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Fennec Prefers The Sandy Desert
Fennec foxes have adapted perfectly to life in the Sahara Desert, where they inhabit stable sand dunes. They also need grasses or shrubs to line their burrows and, if necessary, to use as a source of food and water.
© Lukas Zeman, Czechia, Shortlist, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Fennecs are active mostly in the evening and night
Fennec foxes have excellent eyesight and their sensitive hearing allows them to hear their prey from a great distance. The foxes hunt in the evening and at night, for prey that includes lizards, birds, eggs, beetles, scorpions, spiders and other invertebrates, and rodents. As they are omnivores they will also eat roots, tubers and the bulbs of plants.
© Lukas Zeman, Czechia, Shortlist, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Playing Fennec Pups
Fennec foxes are very active, playful and incredibly mobile. An adult male fox can jump vertically up to 70 cm and more than 100 cm horizontally from a standing position, almost four times its length.
© Lukas Zeman, Czechia, Shortlist, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards