Chiroptera Spotlight: Large Flying Fox

In the last spotlight, I mentioned I was going to look into doing more spotlights for bats. I thought it might be fun to look up a really big one. The large flying fox is just such a bat. In fact it is part of a group of species called megabats.

The large flying fox has a body length of 13 inches. When it has its wings open all the way, they span as wide as 11 inches. It does not posses a tail at all. As the name suggests, the creature does have a very fox-like face, even down to the pointy ears. It can be found in a number of places ranging from the Malay Peninsula to the Philippines in the east. They are also in the Indonesian Archipelago of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Timor in the south. They prefers coastal regions but they can also be spotted as high up as 4,500 feet.

Unlike the silver-haired bat, the large flying fox is entirely an herbivore. They feed on flowers, nectar, and fruit. It's a bit hard to believe being they are so very large, but it is true. I also found out they really love durian fruit which has a horrible smell. I guess they put up with it because they are actually very sweet.

The large flying foxes form into groups when they go out to feed. They will sometimes fly as far as 31 miles in one night for their food. When they find a tree that they like, the bat will land on the tip of a branch standing upright before allowing itself to flop upside down while still holding on. Apparently their eating habits are very sloppy and make a lot of noise.

Mating periods differ depending on their location. They only give birth to one young at a time. During the weaning period, the mother will carry the offspring around and leave them at the roost to bring back food. The child is fully weened in 2 to 3 months.

There may actually be some fiction about the large flying fox, but I am not aware of it yet. I personally would like to see them going around playing pranks on people--pretending to be vampires and whatnot. The funny thing about it is they are 100% harmless. They just enjoy a good scare now and again. Who wouldn't be scared of them? They're giant bats!

Anyways, that's it for one of the biggest bats in the world. Maybe, I'll find more bats that are fun and interesting. Come back next week and find out!

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