Big-eared fox: She only eats insects and is ready to take extremely unsanitary measures for them (8 photos)

The desert spares no one. "Finicky" here = "dead". Each inhabitant of the barren wastelands dodges as best they can to survive another day. And if a big-eared fox needs to dig through other people's waste, then she is clearly not doing it out of a good life!





The animal managed to live in one of the hottest spots on the Dark Continent. The fox drowned in southern Africa - South Africa, Angola, Zambia and east - in Sudan and Tanzania. The environment here is not very diverse. Sand, a couple of dry bushes and more sand.



Big-eared foxes try to settle where there is a little more vegetation. This way you can escape from the scorching sun.

Life in the wasteland has hardened the animal. Yes, the big-eared fox is two times smaller than the common fox, but it would be hard to call our heroine a pusska. The animal stoically tolerates temperature changes from 40 to 10 degrees. It may not drink for months, absorbing moisture from its prey. And he doesn’t even hesitate to snack on vegan sweets - fruits and honey!





Foxes' ears help them survive in extreme desert conditions. These animals are truly gigantic - up to 15 centimeters. If Little Red Riding Hood asked why fox locators are so big, she would get two answers at once. Firstly, to cool down. The ears are permeated with blood vessels and help the animal dissipate excess heat. Secondly, to hear better. Hearing is the big-eared fox's main weapon in the hunt. After all, the African fox abandoned meat in the usual sense and became an insectivorous!



Most of the diet comes from insects. But 10% of the food also includes other arthropods, reptiles and eggs.

Locusts, grasshoppers and beetles - it won’t be the slightest difficulty even for us to find and punish them by sound. But the most important delicacy cannot be found without super hearing. We're talking about termites. A termite mound is to animals what a buffet is to us. Having found their metropolis, you can eat your belly off. Thanks to sensitive locators, foxes only need to lower the pot and listen to where the insects dig their tunnels.



This is not just a pile of stones, but a termite mound. Yes, he is so gigantic compared to the fox.

But when there is no food at all, bat-eared foxes begin to track down ungulates. They are not interested in the juicy bodies of antelopes and zebras, but in the minefields that the herds leave behind. A fatty protein ration in the form of dung beetles instantly appears in the manure. Not very aesthetically pleasing, but very nutritious!



From termite mound to termite mound, from one dung heap to another, foxes move strictly in a duet. Sometimes there are three of us - two ladies and a common man. With the same composition, they begin to produce their own kind. There's not much to do in the desert, so parents think about having puppies only before the rainy season - from December to April.



Foxes raise their young in a hole. Most often, they use aardvark burrows.

Do you think newborns bask in affection and care? No way! Parents raise puppies in spartan conditions from the cradle! In total, up to 6 cubs can appear. But here’s the problem: the mother has only 4 nipples. The weakest ones either die themselves or are killed by their own mother, so as not to waste resources and time on raising an incapable child.



And with all this, the animal is not going to die out. Moreover, the man helped the big-eared animals a lot. Cultivated fields become a veritable dinner table for insects. And, therefore, for our heroes. Why dig through other people's waste when you can help people get rid of pests.