Fennec foxes can live up to 11 years in human care, the Smithsonian said. "Her big ears and sleepy yawns will be missed dearly by guests and staff alike," the zoo wrote in their Instagram post.

Officials said Noelle died of renal failure. Fennec foxes can live up to 13 years in human care and up to 10 years in the wild, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show ...

just when we felt our luck was turning the worst possible thing happened The fennec fox is the world’s smallest wild dog - about 20 cm tall. It’s also very shy, and it lives in small burrows ...

Weighing in at around 1kg, the fennec fox is the smallest of all the foxes. As a resident across the Sahara desert and other parts of North Africa the fennec’s long hairs may seem a bit out of ...

On Tuesday, the zoo announced that their female fennec fox, Noelle, died last week at the age of 12. Noelle was six-months-old when she arrived at the zoo in 2012. The Phoenix Zoo said she was ...