We've been scrutinizing every inch of the Auob riverbed for more than a month. We almost missed them curled up among the fallen branches of a camelthorn..... only the enormous ears exposed them: a pair of bat-eared foxes. In the Kgalagadi, you often see these charismatic little foxes trotting along the riverbed, backs arched, dish-shaped ears pivoted forward. Acting as parabolic reflectors, their ears can amplify the slightest sound, even beetle larvae and harvester termites located deep underground. When it hears something, the fox stops, digs frantically with its forefeet and then chomps triumphantly on a termite. But this pair of foxes have finished foraging for the night. The sun will soon rise over the red dunes flanking the banks of the Auob. A Kalahari Robin strikes up a few tentative notes, announcing the coming dawn. As if responding, the female fox rises, stretches and shakes the dust from her coat. She scans up and down the riverbed before approaching us. We are parked within 5 meters of an old aardvark burrow. The fox approaches the entrance and calls softly. Two black-tipped ears twitch in the first rays of light... a fluffy face peeps at us, eyes blinking, then disappears back into the darkness. We remain motionless. Minutes pass.... Then magically two pups emerge. Legs firmly planted, the female braces herself. The pups attach themselves to her teats, bushy black tails wagging, front paws pummelling her belly to stimulate milk flow. When the female's finished nursing, the male attends to grooming each pup thoroughly and keeping a watchful eye as they charge from one bolt-hole to another, tumbling in the thorny scrub and collapsing in plumes of dust. This is undoubtedly the highlight of our past two months in the Kgalagadi..... And will keep me busy at the easel for many months!
