25/11/2024
Bat-eared fox at Amboseli National Park.
As the name indicates, this fox has unusually enormous ears in proportion to its head, like those of many bats. Their bodies are generally yellow-brown with a pale throat and under parts. The outsides of the ears, the racoon-like “face-mask,” lower legs, feet, and tail tip are all black. Their legs are relatively short. Aside from their large ears, they are unique from other foxes by their teeth — they have more teeth than most placental mammals (46 to 50).
Also they paly a big role in termite control...
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.
