Visitors to Chester’s award-winning zoo will now have two more rare animals to encounter. The UK’s celebrated conservation charity recently took custody of a pair of bat-eared fox sisters who had previously resided in another zoo based in Paris.
Known by keepers as Maasai and Malindi, the foxes are of a species native to Africa’s savannas and grasslands. The mammal siblings have already settled into Chester Zoo’s Heart of Africa development, an incredible undertaking that faithfully recreates the natural habitat of a wide range of species. Animals living in the 22.5-acre enclosure include meerkats, wild dogs, zebra, giraffes, yellow mongoose, black rhinos, antelopes, aardvarks and ostriches, but the bat-eared foxes will specifically be living with 12 porcupines.
Named for their huge ears that grow to more than five inches in length, bat-eared foxes are extremely rare and an endangered species. Their oversized ears help them to regulate their body temperature but also enhance their hearing, letting them track insects to eat that are moving below the ground.
Mammal specialists at Chester Zoo intend to bolster the numbers of bat-eared foxes in the wilds of Africa by mating one of the sisters with a male in a specially designed breeding programme.
The recent appearance of the bat-eared fox sisters marks the first time that Chester has provided a home for their species in 30 years. The Heart of Africa habitat opened in mid-spring this year, and entry is included in the price of general zoo admission.
