The Carnivores of africa

Bat-eared fox

Otocyon megalotis

The bat-eared fox's most definitive feature are its large spoon-like ears (from which it gets its name). The body is a dirty-brown colour and the legs are black.

Distribution There are two distinct populations of bat-eared foxes. These can be found in East and southern Africa.

Social structure These carnivores pair for life. They may be seen in groups made up of their offspring. There is seldom record of more than one pair of adults occupying a den.

Range differentiation

Habitat They prefer open country and are common on farmlands.

Feeding Their main source of food is the harvester termite but they also eat other insects and sometimes fruit.

Breeding The births coincide with the rainy season when termites are at their most active. Young are born after a gestation period of around two months.

The distinctive ears of the Bat-Eared fox

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Bat-eared foxes use their large ears for picking up movements of their prey.

Two Bat-Eared foxes can sense the termites underground

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Bat-eared foxes can pick up the movements of termites underground with their huge ears.

The bat-eared fox hunts by walking with its ears to the ground listening for termites. It can hear movement up to thirty centimetres underground. When it hears activity it digs furiously with its front paws.

The open range

They are one of the few animals whose range has extended due to farming. Farming takes habitat away from species but the fox is suited to open country. Farming has also extended the range of the harvester termites which is the main diet of the foxes.

They have also been mistakenly linked to the killing of young domestic stock, but this has been proved incorrect as they have very weak jaws.