As our incredibly busy summer season comes to an end at the Snake Farm, we are excited to return to one of our favorite types of blogs: animal of the month features! Since we proudly house many different animal species here at the Zoo, these blogs are the perfect way to highlight just how special these animals truly are. For the month of August, we will be featuring one of our newest and most adorable residents: the bat-eared fox! Keep reading to learn all kinds of amazing facts about them!
Reserve your tickets now to meet these adorable canids in person!
Meet the Cute Foxes Housed at the Zoo!
Before we dive into some of our favorite bat-eared fox facts, we wanted to introduce you to the two adorable bat-eared foxes that you can meet at our zoo! First up is our male bat-eared fox, Otto. If this little guy looks familiar, you may have seen his lovable face on SA Live or even in this TikTok! Even though Otto isn’t a baby anymore, he still loves to play, and gets super excited when one of our keepers enters his enclosure with his favorite toys and treats. In fact, bat-eared foxes are one of the only canids that never outgrow their love of playtime!
The next adorable bat-eared fox we get to introduce you to is our female bat-eared fox, Zoe. This little lady might also look familiar if you follow us on social media! Last month, we announced this cutie’s arrival to the Zoo on Facebook, and encouraged our followers to help us name her. While we had plenty of great names in the running, our staff ultimately decided to name her Zoe! Besides going perfectly with her adorable face, the name is of Greek origin and its meaning (“life”) complements her lively, inquisitive demeanor. Swing by the Zoo to meet these cute foxes during our daily Little Safari show or during our brand new bat-eared fox encounters!
Answers to Commonly Asked Questions Like “What Sound Do Foxes Make?”
The bat-eared fox is one of our newest arrivals here at Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo, so we have had the pleasure of answering all kinds of questions about this charming fox species! One of the most common questions we get is “What sound do foxes make?” Like other canids, bat-eared foxes make different noises depending on their surroundings and overall mood. These cute foxes communicate through nine different sounds. Of these nine sounds, seven of them are low-pitched noises that are solely used in a group setting. Such adorable sounds include a soft growling or whispering, and an almost owl-like “who-who” sound. The other two noises are high-pitched sounds that bat-eared fox individuals make when alarmed or on the alert.
Another question that our Mammal Keepers often receive about these cuties has to do with the bat-eared fox diet. Well, we have a very interesting answer to this question! While many canids are omnivores, the bat-eared fox is the only truly insectivorous (insect-eating) canid. While the bat-eared fox eats some fruits as well, they prefer to stick to a diet primarily made up of insects. In fact, the harvester termite makes up roughly 80–90% of the fox species’ diet! Besides the harvester termite, the bat-eared fox will eat dung beetles, spiders, and even scorpions— stingers and all. The last question we will be answering about the bat-eared fox has to do with one of their most beloved attributes: their huge ears! Aside from allowing them to hear their prey underground, these large ears help bat-eared foxes regulate their body temperature through thermoregulation. Through this process, excess body heat is released through blood vessels running along the thin skin of their ears.
No bat-eared fox blog would be complete without some cute fox pictures! We hope these photos encourage you to meet these little guys in person!
Meet Our Bat-Eared Foxes During Your Very Own Private Animal Encounter!
While we have already shared plenty of fun facts about our bat-eared foxes, there are plenty more where that came from! Since cute fox pictures can’t even begin to compare to the joy of meeting these adorable foxes in person, we encourage you to hang out with our bat-eared foxes during a private animal encounter. During your encounter, you can get to know Otto or Zoe on a whole new level as you marvel at the softness of their fur and how large their ears are! You will also get to learn all about these cute canids from their trained and knowledgeable zookeeper.
It can be difficult to gauge just how excited our animal ambassadors are to meet you if you aren’t looking after them on a regular basis. Because of this, we wanted to share a little more about some of the cute mannerisms to expect during your private bat-eared fox encounter! Since we have already answered the question of “What sound do foxes make?,” it’s time to dive a little deeper by discussing the adorable sounds that our happy bat-eared foxes make! When these little guys are happy, they will let you know through yelps that are best described as high-pitched barks.
Excited bat-eared foxes will also roll around on their backs to encourage you to play with them, and run around in a way that dog owners have lovingly coined as “the zoomies.” Discover the adorable answer to “What sound do foxes make when happy?” firsthand during your very own private bat-eared fox encounter!
Make This Summer in Texas Unforgettable by Meeting These Large-Eared Cuties!
If you love adorable bat-eared foxes as much as we do, we hope you swing by to celebrate them with us as summer in Texas comes to a close! Since there is truly no better way to learn about an animal than by meeting them and their zookeeper, we can’t wait to introduce you to these cuties to animal-loving guests like you through our Little Safari show our brand new bat-eared fox encounter. Be sure to say hi to our adorable bat-eared fox duo during your next trip to the Zoo. They can’t wait to meet you!
Follow us on Facebook to keep up with the adorable antics our animals get up to on a regular basis!