The distinctive large ears of bat-eared foxes serve a dual purpose: They aid in thermoregulation and play a crucial role in detecting the sounds of underground prey. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, “their large ears can hear beetle larvae hatching from dung balls.”
Native to two separate areas of savannas, grasslands, and more open woodlands in almost a dozen African countries, these insectivorous and mostly nocturnal canids are quick and agile. They form groups consisting of mating pairs and offspring, but they can also overlap territories with other families, creating larger groups.
This Kenya Wildlife Parks video shares some facts about the bat-eared fox while observing them in the wild.
Bat-eared foxes care for their young as a team, raising three to six offspring in underground dens. These self-dug shelters provide protection from extreme temperatures and other predators.
These foxes eat a lot of harvester termites and scarabs, also known as dung beetles. From AWF:
“A single fox can eat up to 1.15 million termites each year. Termites and dung beetles make up about 80 percent of their diets. In addition to termites and dung beetles, they also eat other insects and arthropods, small rodents, lizards, the eggs and chicks of other birds, and plant matter. They obtain much of their water from the body fluid of the insects they consume.”
Watch these related fox videos on TKSST:
• What is the world’s smallest wild dog?
• Four fox pups in an underground ‘magic tree den’
• Saving the Island Fox
• The Earth’s magnetic field helps foxes target mice in the snow
Bonus Kenyan wildlife video: Returning giraffes back home to Lake Baringo.
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