Zoo welcomes two bat-eared foxes as part of conservation program

By Adam Dutton

Two female bat-eared foxes have arrived at Chester Zoo as part of a specialist breeding program to help save the threatened species.

The two sisters, named Maasai and Malindi, have been welcomed by conservationists after travelling more than 500 miles from a zoo in Paris, France.

Photographs show the pair exploring their new home at Chester and are the first of their kind to be seen at the zoo in more than 30 years.

Keepers plan to eventually introduce one of the sisters to a male fox in the hope they can play a role in the conservation breeding program set up to safeguard the species.

Bat-eared foxes are said to be facing increasing threats in the wild, largely due to habitat loss caused by agriculture, human encroachment and hunting.

They are named after their distinctive oversized ears and are native to the open savannahs and arid grasslands of eastern and southern Africa.

Maasai and Malindi will be located in the zoo’s new 22.5-acre Heart of Africa habitat – the largest zoo development ever undertaken in the UK.

David White, team manager at Chester Zoo, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to welcome bat-eared foxes back to Chester Zoo after a 30-year hiatus, and they’re a wonderful addition to our new Heart of Africa habitat.

"They’re a truly unique and fascinating species with some amazing adaptations.

“Their enormous ears aren’t just for show – they act like satellite dishes and help the foxes detect the tiniest of movements coming from insects beneath the ground, allowing them to detect prey with pinpoint accuracy.

"They’re so sensitive that they can even hear termites chewing underground.

“Both Maasai and Malindi are settling in well so far, spending much of their time exploring their expansive home and getting to know their new housemates – a family of 12 Cape porcupines.

"These two species would often come across one another in the wild, so we’ve recreated this right here at Chester.

"In time, we hope to introduce one of the two sisters to a male fox, with the hope that we can contribute to the European conservation breeding program - helping to ensure there’s a healthy, genetically diverse back-up population in human care.

“Like many species found in the African savannah, bat-eared foxes are under threat as their habitat becomes more fragmented as a result of human activity.

"That’s why our teams are on the ground in several national parks across Kenya and Uganda, safeguarding some of the continent’s rarest species like northern giraffe, giant pangolin, mountain bongo and Eastern black rhino.

"By protecting these species and their habitats, we’re also helping many of Africa’s little-known species like bat-eared foxes, that share the same habitats, to go on to thrive once again.”