Abstract:
Male bat-eared foxes, Otocyon megalotis, are
known to contribute extensively to parental care. Yet, the
exact roles that males and females play in raising offspring
remain relatively unexplored. Here, we describe interactions
between adult foxes and their presumed offspring based on a
pilot study on three family groups of a wild population in
South Africa. We report the first recorded instance of dung
provisioning observed in canids. A male bat-eared fox provided
dung to his offspring during a foraging trip, presumably
to give them access to the ensconced insects. Further,this male provisioned the young foxes with large, live insects.
Similar to other researchers, we never observed provisioning
by females, but the females in this population did
interact socially with their young in addition to suckling.We
emphasize the importance of anecdotal reports of novel
behavioural responses in wild canids, as an accumulation
of such evidence may reveal patterns of innovative behaviour
presently unrecognized in this family.
