What is it about?
Bat-eared foxes typically eat termites and small invertebrates -- indeed, their teeth and jaw muscles are specialised for a diet of small, fast-moving prey. In the past, if the remains of larger animals such as hares were discovered in their dung, researchers assumed the foxes had eaten carrion. However, this study shows that bat-eared foxes can in fact hunt and kill larger prey. We report on a female fox hunting and killing a hare of very similar size to herself. This female could have attempted this risky hunt because of her urgent need to feed her pups.
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Why is it important?
Indirect observations (analysing the dung or stomach contents of dead foxes) seem to have described an incomplete picture of what bat-eared foxes can and cannot hunt. It is unusual for such a small animal to kill a prey item almost as big as itself. Our study demonstrates the value of long-term field research and the close-range observation of habituated animals. It also has implications for carnivore research and parental care studies.
Perspectives
I'm very excited because this female fox stood out from our other study animals -- she hunted large animals, caught more scorpions and rodents than anybody else. Not only does this show the lengths to which a mother would go for her pups, but it also shows the difference that individual personality types can make to the success of wild animals. In 2015, this bat-eared fox was the only female in our population to successfully raise young.
Dr Aliza le Roux
University of the Free State
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: First report of a myrmecophagous bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) hunting a hare (Lepus sp.), African Journal of Ecology, November 2015, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/aje.12259.
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