Bat-eared Fox

Otocyon megalotis

The Bat-eared Fox is a small, cute fox with big ears! They love to eat insects and can be found in the grasslands of Africa, where they use their ears to hear tiny sounds.

Lebensraum: Grasslands

Aussehen

The Bat-eared Fox has a tan-grey coat with striking black markings on its legs, muzzle, and bushy tail. Its most distinctive feature is its exceptionally large, dark ears, which can reach 13 cm long and rotate independently to pinpoint sounds.

ReichAnimaliaStammChordataKlasseMammaliaOrdnungCarnivoraFamilieCanidaeGattungOtocyon

Bat-eared Fox

Kategorie

Säugetiere

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

2/5 · Gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

A Bat-eared Fox can snap up to 5,000 termites in just one night!

A group of Bat-eared Foxes is called a "skulk" or a "leash"!

They get almost all the water they need from the insects they eat!

Unlike most fox species, male Bat-eared Foxes do most of the pup care!

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Bat-eared Fox can locate tiny insects moving underground because their huge, independently rotating ears detect the faintest sounds.

Bat-eared Fox has 48-50 small, sharp teeth that help them efficiently chew thousands of termites and other hard-shelled insects.

Bat-eared Fox can live in family groups and use their strong claws to dig complex burrows for shelter and raising their pups.

Maße und Details

Länge: 46-66 cm
Gewicht: 3-5.3 kg
Lebenserwartung: 6-10 Jahre
Top Speed: 55 km/h
Wurfgröße: 3-6
Tragzeit: 60-70 Tage

Ernährung und Fütterung

These foxes mostly munch on millions of insects, especially termites, using their amazing hearing to find them.

Hauptnahrung

Termites
Dung Beetles
Grasshoppers
Scorpions
Crickets

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

eaten by

Black-backed Jackal

Canis mesomelas

Common predator of both adults and pups.

eaten by

Tawny Eagle

Aquila rapax

Preys on young and smaller Bat-eared Foxes.

eats

Harvester Termite

Hodotermes mossambicus

Primary food source, hunted by the thousands.

eats

Mound-building Termite

Macrotermes natalensis

Another key termite species in their diet.

Merkmale

Pelzig

Pelzig beschreibt Tiere, die eine dichte Schicht aus weichen Haaren oder Fell besitzen.

Sozial

Soziale Tiere leben in organisierten Gruppen und kooperieren, um ihr Überleben zu sichern, beispielsweise bei der Nahrungssuche, Verteidigung und Aufzucht der Jungen.

Grasland

Grasland-Lebensräume sind terrestrische Biome, die von Gräsern und krautigen Pflanzen dominiert werden und einer Vielzahl von Weidetieren als Lebensraum dienen.