Fruit bat

Fruit bats belong to the megabat family and rely on sight rather than echolocation. Large eyes and a keen sense of smell guide them through dusk skies. Their wings are thin membranes stretched across elongated fingers, allowing silent flight between feeding trees. During the day, they roost in enormous colonies, hanging upside down from fig trees or mangroves. Some African camps host tens of thousands of bats whose wingbeats sound like rain when they depart at sunset.

Diet depends on species and season. Many fruit bats sip nectar from night-blooming flowers, dusting their fur with pollen that fertilizes the next blossom they visit. Others crush mangoes, figs, or guavas, spitting out pulp and seeds that later sprout in distant clearings. A few species hunt insects or catch fish, but most are strict herbivores that prune overripe fruit and keep forests regenerating. Because they need constant hydration, they lap dew from leaves and drink while flying by skimming the surface of rivers.

Reproduction varies across regions, yet gestation typically lasts four to six months. Females give birth to a single pup that clings to her belly for several weeks. When she flies at night, the mother leaves the pup in a nursery cluster watched by nearby females, returning frequently to nurse. Juveniles practice flapping their wings while still roosting until they can follow adults on foraging flights. Social grooming and loud squabbles maintain colony order, and bats fan their wings to cool themselves during hot afternoons.

Human activity has fractured bat habitat. Logging removes roost trees, and fruit farmers sometimes persecute bats to protect crops. Additionally, emerging diseases can spill over when stressed bats are forced into urban areas. Conservationists plant fruiting trees, establish bat sanctuaries, and work with farmers on netting and deterrents that protect orchards without harming bats. Public education campaigns emphasize the key ecosystem services fruit bats provide as pollinators and seed dispersers.