Bat-eared foxes settle in to zoo life

Sisters first of their kind at venue for more than 30 years

- BY JOSH PENNINGTON

TWO female bat-eared foxes have arrived at Chester Zoo - the first of their kind to be seen at the zoo in more than 30 years.

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

First images show the pair explor-ing their home at Chester, located in the zoo’s new Heart of Africa habitat - the largest zoo development ever undertaken in the UK, spanning more than 22.5 acres in size.

The species is named after its dis-tinctive oversized ears and is endemic to the open savannahs and arid grass-lands of eastern and southern Africa.

In the wild, bat-eared foxes face increasing threats, largely due to hab-itat loss caused by agriculture, human encroachment and hunting.