With its pointy ears, long snout and red fur, this creature could easily be confused with a fox-that is until you catch a glimpse of its giant leathery wings. With a wingspan of up to four feet, the Indian flying fox is one of the largest bats on the Earth. Although its sharp teeth and long claws make the Indian flying fox look scary, but it's only a threat to ripe fruit!
Thumbs Up: The Indian flying fox has long, hooked thumbs that stick out from the top of each wing. It uses these clawed digits to move around the tree branches where it roosts.
Super Flyer: The Indian flying fox is a very powerful flyer thanks to its enormous wings. The bat also wraps its huge wings around itself for protection and warmth while its roosts.
Bat Camp[]
The flying fox's long claws allow it to grip tree branches.
Indian flying foxes spend their days roosting in trees in huge groups called colonies, or camps, which can contain more than a thousand animals. Each bat hangs upside down by its feet with its wings wrapped around its body. The dominant males get the best roosting spots, but all females can move from branch to branch as they please. At dusk these furry bats simply release their grip on their branches, drop from the trees and glide off into the night in search of fruit.
Follow Your Nose: Unlike bats that hunt insects, the Indian flying fox doesn't use echolocation to find food. It relies on its strong sense of smell to help it locate the ripest fruits in the forest.
The Juice Man Cometh: The Indian flying fox doesn't eat its meals so much as it drinks them. The bat plucks fruit from a tree then grinds it up between its grooved molars. The flying fox swallows the fruit juice and spits out any pulp, skin and seeds.
What Big Eyes You Have...[]
The Indian flying fox has very big eyes for a bat-they look more like the eyes of ground-or tree-dwelling nocturnal animals. This bat relies on its superb vision for guidance while flying. Although its eyes are highly developed, the Indian flying fox can only see in black and white.
Trivia[]
- The Indian flying fox is listed as a possible origin for the Baital on the back of it's card.
- In "Super Flyer", the last sentence says "its roosts" instead of "it roosts".
- The photo next to "What Big Eyes You Have..." is also used for the main image on the Wildlife Explorer card.