Longevity of a wild bat-eared fox
Kamler JF., Macdonald DW.
Longevity in wild bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) has never been reported. Long lifespans might be rare in most populations due to disease and predation from larger carnivores. While conducting ecological research on bat-eared foxes on private sheep farms near Kimberley, Northern Cape, we documented a wild bat-eared fox to be at least 9 years old. The unusually old age of this fox might have been due to lack of larger carnivores on the study site, including black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas), which might normally predate on, or transmit diseases to, bat-eared foxes.