THE BAT-EARED FOX - A PRIME CANDIDATE FOR RABIES VECTOR

Bat-eared foxes, Otocyon megalotis, are small (3-5 kg), primarily inse ctivorous carnivores widespread in the more arid areas of southern and East Africa. For many months of the year they live in nuclear family groups, members of which frequently indulge in affiliative behaviour s uch as play, allogrooming, and huddling. Physical contact between indi viduals in any particular group is thus common. in addition, groups ar e non-territorial and intermingle freely at times when exploiting food -rich patches of clumped prey, e.g. individuals foraging for harvester termites, Hodotermes mossambicus.