Bat-Eared Fox
Otocyon megalotis
WILD STATUS
Least Concern.
DISTRIBUTION
The population is split into two groups, the Northern population exists in Ethiopia to Tanzania, and the Southern population exists from Zambia to South Africa.
SIZE
Weight 3-5 kg (6-9 lbs).
HABITAT
Arid savannah, grassland and brush country. Prefer areas with bare ground and open grassland.
REPRODUCTION
Average of 5 pups after a 60-75 day gestation period.
DIET
Mostly consume insects, specifically Harvester Termites and Dung Beetles, rodents, eggs and young of ground nesting birds and some vegetable matter.
INTERESTING TIDBITS
- Bat-Eared Foxes live in dens they dig themselves or take over and enlarge the dens of other animals.
- They are diurnal in the winter and nocturnal in the summer as protection against the fierce heat in their surroundings.
- They are more social than other fox-like canids in that they hunt in family groups and do not leave their young behind.
- Bat-Eared Foxes are very shy, but curious.
- To escape from predators, they rely on speed and an amazing ability to dodge. They can reverse direction at a flat-out run without losing any speed.
- They have 48 teeth, 6 more than any other members of the dog family, no one knows why.
- Rabies, distemper and human activity are the main source of the Bat-Eared Foxes decline. In Botswana, they are hunted for their pelts.
ANIMAL FACT SHEET
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