Fruit Bats - Creatures of the Night

Contrary to all the scary stories and myths about bats over the year's fruits bats are basically harmless creatures of the night. Fruit bats help to plant seeds for fruits that we eat every day and pollinate flowers that are enjoyed by everyone.

There are many species of fruit bats ranging from the smallest at about 2 1/2 inches to the biggest at 16 inches. They rely on their large eyes for twilight flights, navigating caves and forests or searching for food. Strong teeth provide the means for eating many types of fruits including bananas, mangos, figs, peaches, avocados, dates and guavas.

You may have also heard of fruit bats being referred to as megabats or flying foxes. Both names are fairly descriptive. The megabats being the larger sized fruit bats and the flying foxes get their name from an incredible likeness to foxes in their faces. Some of the largest flying foxes are known to have a wingspan in excess of 5 feet.

Fruit bats may travel as far as 30 to 40 miles searching for food. Most types nest in trees, caves, barns or even abandoned buildings. These are nocturnal creatures of the night, which sleep by day and scavenge for food at night. They are community-oriented animals that predominately stay in large groups, colonies or camps. You may have seen pictures depicting their typical appearance of hanging onto tree branches upside down while sleeping

Their search for food begins each night at sunset when they seek out ripened fruits and blooming flowers. They have an amazing sense of smell that guides them to their food sources even though they are flying in the dark. An interesting fact about fruit bats is that although they are good flyers, landing can be a major problem. For example, a flying fox may have to crash land into a tree or bush in order to stop. Awkward landings are common for such a normally agile bat.

Flying fruit bats prefer to inhabit tropical rain forests and may be found in such places as the Philippine Islands, Sumatra, Borneo or the Malaysia Peninsula. Ideally, they seek out warm areas with plenty of fruits available all year round if possible. If hot summer days get too warm fruit bats will use their own wings to fan their bodies creating a cooling breeze. On the other hand, if temperatures plummet they take advantage of their wings to wrap themselves up like a blanket covering their faces and even huddling with other bats within the colony for additional warmth.

Sources:

http://www.thewildones.org/Animals/fruitBat.html

http://sonic.net/~mk/work/flyingfox.html