South Africa/NC: Mokala NP – Night Drives

Doing night drives at Mokala NP is definitely a must – you get an opportunity to see nocturnal animals and sometimes even rare one. We saw dozens and dozen of spring hair all around the place and even the bat-eared foxes twice. Unlike most foxes, bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) mainly eat termites, beetles, ants, and other small insects. They use their large ears to detect underground prey and dig quickly with their sharp claws. Also unlike most other canids (wolves and dogs), they have 50 teeth instead of 46. The spring hare (Pedetes capensis) is another unique, nocturnal rodent found in Mokala NP in abundance. Despite its name, it is not a hare at all, but a large jumping rodent that looks like a small kangaroo with its powerful hind legs and long tail. They can leap up to 2 m (6.5 fr) in a single bound to escape predators. They are active at night, hiding in burrows during the day.