Bat-eared Fox facts | Amazing Animals

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The bat-eared fox is a species of fox found on the African savanna.
It is named for its large ears, which have a role in thermoregulation.
They are relatively small canids.
Generally, the pelage is tan-colored, with gray agouti guard hairs, giving its grizzled appearance, appearing more buff on the sides. The undersides and throat are pale. The limbs are dark, shading to dark brown or black at their extremities. The muzzle, the tip and upperside of the tail and the facial mask are black. The insides of the ears are white. Proportionally large ears of bat-eared foxes, a characteristic shared by many other inhabitants of hot, arid climates, help to distribute heat. They also help in locating prey.
They are adapted to arid or semi-arid environments. They are commonly found in short grasslands, as well as the more arid regions of the savannas, along woodland edges, and in open acacia woodlands. It prefers bare ground and areas where grass is kept short by grazing ungulates. It tends to hunt in these short grass and low shrub habitats. However, it does venture into areas with tall grasses and thick shrubs to hide when threatened.
They are considered the only truly insectivorous canid, with a marked preference for harvester termites, which can constitute 80–90% of its diet.
It is predominantly socially monogamous. In contrast to other canids, the bat-eared fox has a reversal in parental roles, with the male taking on the majority of the parental care behavior. Gestation lasts for 60–70 days and females give birth to litters consisting of one to six kits. Beyond lactation, which lasts 14 to 15 weeks, males take over grooming, defending, huddling, chaperoning, and carrying the young between den sites. Additionally, male care and den attendance rates have been shown to have a direct correlation with cub survival rates. The female forages for food, which she uses to maintain milk production, on which the pups heavily depend. Food foraged by the female is not brought back to the pups or regurgitated to feed the pups.