Re: fruitbats (wasRe: Butterflies)

On Wed, 9 Nov 2005, Roger Mills wrote:
>
> Rodlox wrote:
> > >From: Yann Kiraly <yann_kiraly@...>
> > >
> > >What exactley is a fruitbat? Is it an especialy big bat or does it
> > >specialise on fruit?
> >
> > yes to both.
> >
> > they're also known as Flying Foxes (though they aren't related to
> > foxes...aside from both being mammals)
>
> Right-- they are quite large, at least like a very big housecat with
wings;
> they have a very dog-like (well, fox-like) face,
I'd call them bat-like ... :-)


> ... with a longish snout, dark
> brownish fur.....at least the ones I saw in Indonesia. They seem very
> social, hang around in treetops, and make a dreadful racket.
The Royal Botanic gardens in Melbourne, Australia,
where I live, has a problem with fruitbats.  They have
colonised many of the taller trees, including some rare
exotic palms that are over a hundred years old.  Many
attempts have been made to dislodge them, or reduce
their numbers, but since they are endemic, there has
been great reluctance to cull them.  One of the earlier
attempts was to relocate them - but they just flew
back!  I've seen a few also in the Fitzroy Gardens,
another of central Melbourne's lovely and extensive
parks, but never in great numbers.  They are most
active, it seems, around twilight, which in these latitudes
lasts for about an hour in summer, shorter in winter.
Yes, they make a "dreadful racket" when they're
squabbling over a preferred roosting spot, or a choice
piece of fruit.  In flight, they usually only utter a few
contact calls; as they fly in to roost, the sound of many
thousand leathery wings beating is probably more
prominent than their vocalisations.

> ... The ones I saw
> were in the daytime and seemed quite active, but I don't know whether
> they're also nocturnal, like real bats.
They're real bats, and they're mostly diurnal.  The
possums that come to raid our plum tree are almost
exclusively nocturnal.

When someone in Australia uses the word 'bat', nine
times out of ten they mean a 'fruit-bat'.  They are by
far the most conspicuous of our bats.

Regards,
Yahya

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