The species departs from canid dental convention in a way few mammals do. It carries extra upper and lower molars, giving a total that can reach around 50 teeth, and the lower jaw has a distinctive step-like process anchoring the digastric muscle. The combination allows unusually fast chewing cycles, which suits a diet of many small hard-bodied prey rather than few large ones.
The diet itself is dominated by harvester termites of the genus Hodotermes, with beetles, other insects, and some fruit and small vertebrates. Foraging is done by ear: the large pinnae are used to listen for insects moving beneath the surface, and the fox digs at the located spot. Groups feed close together rather than dispersing, because the food is patchy and abundant where it occurs.
Parental care is inverted relative to most canids. Males spend more time at the den guarding, grooming and accompanying pups than females do, while female foraging time drives milk production. The species' fortunes track termite abundance closely, which is why grazing pressure that favours harvester termites can raise local fox numbers.