Jambo, Mr. Nature here–and it’s off to the Kalahari Desert for a brief look at the remarkable Bat-Eared Fox.
Our cats, Robbie and Peep, had ears like this when we first got them, but eventually the rest of the cat caught up to the ears. For the bat-eared fox, forget it. Their ears stay supersized.
Even cooler than the ease with which a fox chows down on a live scorpion is the determination with which the father kit fox protects his daughter from mating with a stranger. But we find his attitude changes when the same suitor, much chastened, comes back and pays his respects to the father before trying again to mate with the daughter. The niceties preserved, father fox then permits the union.
I’ll bet a lot of human fathers can relate to that!