Fruit Bats - Pteropus rodricensis - Flying Foxes - Information and Pictures of Fruit Eating Bats

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The Fruit Bat like all other bats, are found in the Order Chiroptera. These are some of my all time favorite and intriguing animals, and David and I are both fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with them. Some of the larger Pteropus Fruit Bats are also known by the name Flying Fox or even confused with the Colugo the Flying Lemur (not a true lemur or a primate). The reason for this comparison is quite obvious after 1st glance at Pictures of Fruit Bats. Fruit Bats have highly elongated noses packed full of highly sensitive olfactory cells or smelling cells due to their diet of fruit. Their faces look extremely similar to that of lemurs (primarily the Ruffed Lemur) and that of the Red Fox.

Fruit Bats are magnificent animals and the large “Flying Foxes” pose a mystery to science. There was an article published in the “Journal of Australian Primatology” years ago hypothesizing that the Flying Fox may actually be a flying primate. This theory has tremendous impact, as there has never been any Fossilized Primate recovered to date indicating such an existence. This may also support the name “Flying Lemur” as lemurs are classified as a True Primate. Anyhow, the author mentioned the fact that the bats had tremendous similarities to primates especially the Flying Foxes. He supported his theory by mentioning the fact that the Optic nerve of these bats crossed brain hemispheres, so the left optic nerve crossed to the right hemisphere and vice versa. This combined with the structure of a bat's hand make a compelling argument! So one day some species of Fruit Bat may be reclassified from the Worlds’ only Flying Mammal to the Worlds’ only Flying Primate.

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Fruit Bats as well as all species of bat are extremely important to nature and man, and deserve protection to our highest capacity. Fruit Bats are exclusively responsible for the flower pollination of numerous plants and the majority of Night Blooming Flowers including the protected Giant Cactus. In fact, countries that have attempted to exterminate their Fruit Bats have had entire crops destroyed as a result, which in some cases caused famine. Now I know what allot of you are thinking? “If Fruit Bats eat fruit, how can killing them be bad for crops”? The reason is simple; Fruit Bats primarily eat over ripe fruit. Once the “Over Ripe Fruit” started to accumulate, so did the fruit flies and other crop damaging insects.

Unlike their famed counterpart, the Vampire Bat, the Fruit Bat is purely a vegetarian. They are found in a variety of habitats and range in size from very small to extremely large with a 6 foot + wingspan. Although the Sanctuary does not currently care for any Fruit Bats at this time, we do invite you to view the Sanctuary’s numerous WEB CAMS placed in the large naturally enriching habitats. Get to know each of the Sanctuary’s resident White Tigers personally, and then hop directly into one of the lemur habitats. David and I are both confident that you will not only fall in love with the Sanctuary’s residents, but will gain a better interest in their conservation and protection in the wild. Remember, “BEFORE YOU CAN SAVE THE ANIMAL, YOU MUST 1st SAVE ITS WILD HABITAT”, (John Jones – Florida’s Wild Future DVD).

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