We were very fortunate to catch this pair of bat eared foxes on our African safari. We spotted them in Masai Mara, very early one morning.
Being very nocturnal and quite timid and fast, we were lucky that these two stayed with us for several minutes, although at some distance .
Unfortunately, the light was still very low and these shots were taken with a long lens, hand held, at 1/50th second, so they are not as sharp as they could be. As the light improved, so the foxes got up and walked off into the thick grass.
I think the reason why these are known as bat eared foxes is fairly self evident. They are also known as Delalande's fox for reasons that completely escape me.
We came across two other bat eared foxes further north, but were unable to get shots due to the very low light and the speed of movement of the foxes.
Spotting bat eared foxes is probably largely down to luck. Mostly night time animals, they do sometimes come out on overcast days, when the light is low.
When frightened, they flatten their ears against their heads.
This pair didn't seem to be the least bit bothered by us and at one stage came a little closer, for a better look at what we were up to. For the most part they just laid in the road, taking in the early morning sun..jpg)
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