Bat-eared foxes, Description, Behaviors, Distribution, Reproduction, Habitat, Diet, Threats, Conservation, and facts

Bat-eared foxes

Description

The bat-eared fox's most distinguishing characteristic is its five-inch-long ears, which offer acute hearing as well as heat dissipation. This African species hunts for food, mostly insects, using its hearing. A single termite or beetle larva may be detected by the fox up to a foot underground! It then pounces or digs swiftly to claim its prey. A single fox may consume 1.15 million termites each year, and this species is essential for managing harvester termite numbers.

Sandy gray in color, with lighter hair on the abdomen and darker fur around the eyes, snout, back of the ears, paws, and tip of their long, bushy tail. White or buff on the inside of the ears and a band across the forehead

Bat-eared foxes have the most teeth of any canine, with between 46 and 50; mature domestic dogs have 42 teeth. Bat-eared foxes have developed teeth that are better at eating insects than shredding flesh. Bat-eared foxes are frequently seen near herds of hoofed animals, where they prey on insects stirred up by their movements or drawn to their droppings. The majority of the water they require is derived from the food they consume.

Bat-eared foxes are mostly monogamous and live in families of two to five members. They excavate capacious subterranean shelters with several entrances and chambers, preferably camouflaged by grassy or overgrown vegetation, utilizing their strong claws. They will also exploit abandoned termite mounds or animal burrows. They may spend the day outside the den and hunt at night when it is colder.

Although the areas of bat-eared foxes overlap, they are nice neighbors and comfortably coexist. During the rainy season, when insects are most abundant, up to six offspring, known as kits, are born. Kits nurse for roughly 15 weeks, which is twice as long as domestic dog puppies. While the female forages, the male looks after the kits, guarding, grooming, and playing with them. Kits are raised by their parents for roughly a year.

Characteristics Physical

The body length is around two feet, with a one-foot tail, and the weight fluctuates between seven and twelve pounds. The lifespan ranges from six to thirteen years.

Distribution

In Africa, there are two subspecies of the Bat-eared fox. One is in Africa's east, ranging from Tanzania to southern Sudan and Ethiopia. The other subspecies are found in southern Africa, from South Africa's Cape Peninsula and Cape Agulhas through Angola and Zambia, and on to Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Bat-eared foxes prefer dry or semi-arid habitats. They inhabit short grasslands, as well as more dry savanna habitats, forest borders, and open acacia woods. They prefer to hunt in short grass and low shrub settings, but may occasionally wander into the tall grass and heavy shrub habitats to hide when threatened.

Behaviors

They are most active throughout the night.

Bat-eared foxes are largely nocturnal, with 85 percent of their activities taking place at night. At sunset, they emerge from their underground burrows to graze throughout the night.

Bat-eared foxes are skilled scavengers.

They have an amazing sense of hearing and can hear beetle larvae emerging from dung balls with their huge ears. They have an exceptional ability to avoid predators and can reverse directions at full speed without losing speed.

They create family groupings that are similar to ours.

Mating pairs and their young bat-eared foxes dwell in groups. They are normally monogamous and have a litter of three to six puppies per year. These family groupings frequently socialize, play, and sleep together. Males are as involved in protecting, grooming, and playing with the young as the mother is.

Reproduction

Bat-eared foxes are monogamous, mating just once throughout their lives. However, there have been documented situations of two females living with one male and shared breastfeeding. The breeding season lasts from September through November. The female gives birth to 2-5 kids after a gestation period of 60-70 days. Both parents help to raise the children. The infants open their eyes on the ninth day after birth, and on the seventeenth day, they begin to emerge from the den. Weaning can take a long time: it normally begins when the kids are one month old and lasts around 2-3 months, during which time the children continue to suckle from their mother. And finally, at the age of 5-6 months, the young are fully grown. 

The mother fox feeds her young for 10 to 15 weeks, but unlike other canids, she rarely regurgitates solid food for them since it contains hard bug pieces that the young cannot digest. While the mother forages for food, the male frequently takes food to the pups or monitors them. He teaches his young how to drill, as well as plays with and grooms them. Young is completely developed by 6 months of age, and females can reach their first breeding cycle at 18 months.

Habitat

The bat-eared fox may be found in two distinct locations in Africa. East Africa, from Sudan to Tanzania, has a single population. A second population can be found in southern Africa. They like broad, grassy plains and savannas with low rainfall.

It's not uncommon to see groups of bat-eared foxes occupying the same area in the short-grass savannas and scrublands of eastern and southern Africa, which is unique among other wild canines. Their extensive ecological range corresponds to that of their main meal, the harvester termite. Bat-eared foxes often dwell in groups of two to five individuals with overlapping territories of about 200 acres (80 hectares).

The territory of the bat-eared fox family contains many den holes, each with several entrances, tunnels, and chambers. Fox claws are designed for digging, and they can build their own burrows or expand on those dug by other animals. They have even been observed using ancient termite mounds as dens. The den is a safe haven where the group rests and where females give birth. Eagles, jackals, and hyenas are among the predators that prey on bat-eared foxes.

Diet

This fox consumes insects, with termites accounting for up to 70% of its diet. Aside from termites, which it sucks up from the ground, the bat-eared fox consumes grasshoppers, scorpions, spiders, millipedes, rodents, lizards, fruits, and eggs. However, insects constitute the majority of its food.

The fact that bat-eared foxes have more teeth (46 to 50) than most animals distinguishes them from other foxes. Other dog family members have two uppers and three lower molars on each side of the mouth, whereas bat-eared foxes have three uppers and four lower molars. Specialized teeth eat their creeping, crawling meal, and their enormous ears can detect moving insects.

Bat-eared foxes hunt by going slowly with their noses near the ground and their ears cocked. When the foxes hear the insects, they jump or dig swiftly to capture them and crush them up for a nice, high-protein supper. Bat-eared foxes congregate near hoofed animals because they produce feces, and flies flutter about the droppings, providing a ready meal for the foxes. When seeking food, these tiny canids can move up to 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) every night.

Threats

Bat-eared foxes attract hunters for their pelts: in countries such as Botswana, these foxes' pelts are highly prized, providing a good source of revenue for locals. Another important issue is habitat fragmentation. Farmland regions in Namibia, for example, have a far lower number of these foxes than national parks and protected areas. Finally, illnesses including canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus, and rabies are significant threats to the Bat-eared fox population: Rabies epidemics cause up to 90% mortality in this species.

Population 

According to the IUCN, the Bat-eared fox is common and widespread across its range, although there is no total population estimate. This species is now rated as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its populations are steady.

Environmental niche

The harvester termite population in their environment is controlled by bat-eared foxes, which consume up to 1.15 million termites each year.

Conservation

Bat-eared foxes, fortunately, are very numerous in southern and eastern Africa. They are occasionally hunted or killed for their pelts or because they are thought to be pests to young livestock.

Interesting Facts

. The Bat-eared fox gets the majority of its moisture from its meal rather than from drinking water.

. These foxes have 48 teeth, more than the majority of animals.

. These creatures communicate with each other using nine different sounds.

. They communicate by whistling gently and using their tails and ears.

. Individuals may be recognized by the Bat-eared fox from up to 30 meters away. The recognition procedure consists of three steps: They ignore the individual at first, then look closely, and then approach or attack without warning.

. This fox's ears not only resemble those of a bat, but it also utilizes its ears for the same purpose as bats: it listens for insects. These foxes mainly hunt at night, wandering about the region and attentively listening to the sound of scuttling prey.