Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Fredrik Dalerum Aliza le Roux Jan Kamler Samantha Page-Nicholson Christopher Stuart Mathilde Stuart Beryl Wilson Emmanuel Do Linh San
Contributors: Michael Hoffmann Wendy Collison Ruan de Bruin Keafon Jumban
Reviewers: Fredrik Dalerum Aliza le Roux Jan Kamler Samantha Page-Nicholson Christopher Stuart Mathilde Stuart Beryl Wilson Emmanuel Do Linh San

Rationale

This species is listed as Least Concern because it is common in conservation areas and occurs widely on farms throughout the assessment region. Bat-eared Foxes are occasionally persecuted mistakenly as damage-causing animals. However, these threats, while suspected to cause local declines periodically, are not expected to be affecting the population trend overall. Monitoring, management and education are recommended to mitigate losses on farmlands, ranches and roads.

Regional population effects: There is a continuous population consisting of the assessment region and neighbouring countries. It is unlikely that the population in the assessment region is a sink. It is unknown whether or not immigrants from outside the region are frequent enough to enhance the regional population significantly. Bat-eared Foxes are efficient dispersers (Kamler et al. 2013a).

Distribution

The Bat-eared Fox has a disjunct distribution range, occurring across the arid and semi-arid regions of eastern and southern Africa in two discrete populations (representing each of the known subspecies) separated by about 1,000 km. Otocyon m. virgatus ranges from southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia down through Uganda and Kenya to southwestern Tanzania; O. m. megalotis occurs from Angola through Namibia and Botswana to Mozambique and South Africa (Coetzee 1977; Kingdon 1977; Skinner & Chimimba 2005). The two ranges were probably connected during the Pleistocene (Coe & Skinner 1993). This disjunct distribution is similar to that of other endemic, xeric species, for example Aardwolf (Proteles cristata) and Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas). Bat-eared Foxes are considered widespread in both Namibia and Botswana and their distribution extends narrowly into Zimbabwe (Skinner & Chimimba 2005). In Mozambique, they are limited to the southwestern areas.

Within the assessment region, the species is absent from Lesotho, Swaziland and KwaZulu-Natal Province (Skinner & Chimimba 2005; Nel & Maas 2013). This could possibly be due to a lack of their preferred termite food source. Bat-eared Foxes are widespread throughout the rest of the assessment region, and indeed their distribution coincides mostly with that of harvester termites. There appears to have been a recent range expansion into the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, as well as the southern parts of the Limpopo Province. The species occurs throughout the arid western parts of the North West Province (Power 2014) and, during above average rainfall years, abundance increases in arid savannahs (i.e. areas receiving < 300 mm rainfall / year) and decreases in mesic savannahs (> 500 mm / year) (Macdonald 1982), which would explain the species’ local abundance in any given year. In the Western Cape, Bat-eared Foxes are found within the Cape Point Nature Reserve and along the coastal areas (e.g. West Coast National Park and Elandsbaai). In the Eastern Cape, they have a more restricted distribution – being confined to the western inland areas of the province (Skinner & Chimimba 2005).

Population trend

Trend

The species is common in conservation areas in southern Africa, and locally common in arid areas and on farms on the Karoo plateau. However, natural population fluctuations can complicate estimates of population trends. Within a circumscribed habitat, numbers can fluctuate depending on rainfall, food availability (Waser 1980; Nel et al. 1984), breeding stage and disease (Maas 1993a,b; Nel 1993). Persecution may cause local declines in other areas of their distribution. Living in nuclear family groups with high rates of amicable behaviour, Bat-eared Foxes may be particularly susceptible to local outbreaks of diseases such as canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus and rabies (Kamler et al. in press). Populations in the Kimberley area (Northern Cape Province) that were being peripherally monitored during ongoing sympatric carnivore studies were seen to crash following such outbreaks, only recovering after a year or two (B. Wilson & F. Dalerum pers. obs. 2007–2012).

Population densities can vary enormously, from Bat-eared Foxes being rare to abundant. The estimated density of Bat-eared Foxes on a a sheep farm and a game farm near Kimberley, were estimated at 1.1 and 0.7 individual(s) / km2, respectively (Kamler et al. 2012, 2013b). In the south western Kalahari in dry river beds, Nel et al. (1984) recorded densities between 0.7–14 individual(s) / km2. Densities were higher in Limpopo Province at 5.7 individuals / km2. At Tussen-die-Riviere Game Reserve in the Free State, Mackie and Nel (1989) reported varying densities of 0.3–0.5 individual / km2 over a 3-year period, while in the central Karoo densities were higher with between 1.1 and 2.0 individuals / km2 (Kuntzsch & Nel 1992).

Threats

In the assessment region, the primary threats are hunting for skins and intended or accidental persecution, although the exact relative impacts need to be quantified. Bat-eared Foxes often fall prey to a variety of raptor species, as well as most larger carnivores. Black-backed Jackals are likely the greatest predator of Bat-eared Foxes (Kamler et al. 2012, 2013b). Jackals may not only have negative impacts on numbers of Bat-eared Foxes (Blaum et al. 2009), but they can also affect the group size and home range size of this species (Kamler et al. 2013b).

Climate change is likely to affect distribution patterns, but not necessarily population numbers. This species does not exclusively feed on harvester termites (Klare et al. 2011), and therefore could adapt to locally changing conditions by switching to other food sources, such as other invertebrates or fruits. Bat-eared Foxes are able to quickly move into areas that are rehabilitated or suited to their needs (Rova 2003), probably due to their extensive dispersal abilities (Kamler et al. 2013a). The expansion of agricultural areas (direct anthropogenic change) may have a stronger impact on numbers and distribution, given their persecution by farmers, and the increased potential for diseases such as rabies and canine distemper being spread through contact with domestic dogs (Rova 2003; Kamler & Macdonald 2006; Kamler et al. in press).

Bat-eared Foxes are also very often killed on roads (Bullock et al. 2011). For example, 37 dead individuals (possibly killed over a few weeks’ period) were counted on a single day along a 170 km stretch of road along the R360 towards Upington in the Northern Cape (K. Jumban unpubl. data). Further, between 2009 and 2016, at least 602 Bat-eared Foxes were killed as a result of vehicle collisions across South Africa (EWT unpubl. data). This data was collected on an ad hoc basis and therefore, it is expected that numbers are likely to be higher.

Uses and trade

Bat-eared Foxes may be persecuted as damage-causing animals, and will also be subject to accidental persecution where the intended target is another species.
Skins are traded commercially, at the national scale, and they are also offered as trophies in small numbers throughout South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania. Commercial use is very limited, but winter pelts are valued and sold as blankets. Bat-eared Foxes are also kept in captivity in North America, Europe, South Africa and Asia as exotic pets, although never in large numbers.

In general, Bat-eared Foxes do well on game/wildlife farms. Because this species focuses on termite consumption, it is compatible with a broad range of habitats and management strategies. However, their well-being may be inversely affected by high numbers of larger predators, particularly Black-backed Jackals, due to intraguild predation

Conservation

Bat-eared Foxes occur in many protected areas within the assessment region, including the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, as well as in numerous game ranches and farms throughout the assessment region (with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal).

Education aimed at improving public awareness of this species is seen as a primary conservation intervention. Awareness campaigns targeting landowners and farmers to the fact that this species primarily eats termites and does not damage livestock is paramount. Similarly, the public should be discouraged from buying Bat-eared Fox pelts or, at least, a sustainable and well-monitored trade should be established.

The species is a particularly high road-collision risk in some areas (EWT unpubl. data). In the Kalahari, sign boards were used to warn visitors travelling to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to reduce their speed. It was later determined through interviews that the majority of Bat-eared Fox incidents were actually from local residents who were more familiar with the roads and travelled at faster speeds after sunset. However, such signage is used internationally as a standard mitigation measure and can be effective in raising general public awareness if used correctly (Bond & Jones 2013).

Recommendations for land managers and practitioners:
  • Monitoring population trends of Bat-eared Foxes.
  • Reducing persecution as damage-causing animals through improved local knowledge.
  • Maintain short-growth grassland through suitable grazing regimes.
  • Managing numbers of Black-backed Jackals, especially in areas without apex predators, may benefit this species.
Research priorities: In southern Africa, a recent study documented important aspects of Bat-eared Fox ecology, such as home range size, habitat use, seasonal movements, mortality, dispersal patterns of adults and young, and formation of breeding pairs (Kamler et al. 2012, 2013a,b, in press). However, there is a conspicuous lack of information about both abundance and population trends in this species across its range. Overall, the following research priorities have been identified:
  • Quantification of population trends and causes for population fluctuations.
  • Quantification of large-scale population structure.
  • Quantification of dispersal capabilities.
  • Effects of disease on population dynamics.
  • Role of Bat-eared Foxes in disease transmission.
  • The effect of road mortalities on local populations and at a national level.
  • The dispersal of young and the formation of new breeding pairs.
  • The causal factors for differences in home range size in different localities, group size and changes in density as a function of food availability are poorly known.
  • The impacts of awareness campaigns and whether they can effectively reduce persecution by landowners and farmers.
  • The impact of the absence of apex predators on farmland.
Encouraged citizen actions:
  • Report sightings on virtual museum platforms (for example, iSpot and MammalMAP), especially outside protected areas.
  • Report road mortalities to roads@ewt.org.za.
  • Create conservancies by dropping fences between properties and holistically managing large areas.

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