What did you know bat-eared foxes are life partners?

What did you know bat-eared foxes are life partners?

The Bat-eared Fox is named after its enormous ears. They spend the day in burrows and are usually only observed at night or before sunset.

Pairs or groups of people are frequently encountered living together. They usually congregate around dusk to play and groom one another. Bat-eared foxes are monogamous. Two females will sometimes mate with a single male and share a common cave. The father is actively interested in his children’s upbringing. He spends a large amount of time caring for them. The mother is free to seek food, including insects, while the father keeps an eye on the cubs.

Bat-eared Foxes are mostly active at night. Couples reside in dens and care for two to five pups. Bat-eared foxes are skilled diggers who frequently dig their prey out of holes. They will occasionally dig their own dens, but more often than not, they will alter an aardvark or other species’ tunnel. Their ability to turn fast, even at high speeds, has earned them the Afrikaans colloquial moniker Draaijakkals, which translates as “turning jackal.”

Insects make up to 80% of their food. Bat-eared Foxes graze on insects that land on their feces and are usually seen around termite mounds, locust swarms, and herds of zebras or antelopes. The Bat-eared Fox eats rodents, birds, eggs, and occasionally fruits in addition to insects. It gets the majority of its water from the food it eats.

Bat-eared foxes like open savannah, grassland, scrub, moderately forested regions, and farming habitats. They nearly seldom occur in deserts or woods.