The Bat-eared Fox has a disjunct distribution range, occurring across the arid and semi-arid regions of eastern and southern Africa in two discrete populations (representing each of the known subspecies) separated by about 1,000 km. Otocyon m. virgatus ranges from southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia down through Uganda and Kenya to southwestern Tanzania; O. m. megalotis occurs from Angola through Namibia and Botswana to Mozambique and South Africa. The two ranges were probably connected during the Pleistocene. This disjunct distribution is similar to that of other endemic, xeric species, for example Aardwolf (Proteles cristata) and Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas). Bat-eared Foxes are considered widespread in both Namibia and Botswana and their distribution extends narrowly into Zimbabwe. In Mozambique, they are limited to the southwestern areas.