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A
Guide to the: Peters' Epauletted Fruit Bat - Epomophorus crypturus
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Peters' Epauletted
Fruit Bats are a common species in part of the southern Africa subregion,
including Mozambique, eastern Zaire, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, southern
Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and parts of South Africa. They congregate
in large colonies of up to hundreds of individuals and make a great
deal of noise together, especially when returning after a night's foraging.
They hang upside-down from the thinner branches of evergreen trees,
whose thick foliage provides cover. As they jockey for position, interfering
neighbours are slashed with wings and with the sharp claw at the end
of the first digit or thumb on the leading edge of the wing. Eventually
they all settle down, slightly spaced out from one another, and silence
reigns for the day. The so-called epaulette on each shoulder of the
males is a patch of white hairs covering a sunken glandular pouch. The
hairs come into prominence when the pouches are turned outwards. This
happens when the animal is under stress, when it vocalises, and possibly
also when it is sexually stimulated. The male's call is a musical bark,
usually uttered as it hangs in its accustomed position. These bats prefer
soft, pulpy fruits. In their raids on cultivated crops, they ignore
apples and pears, but eat peaches, figs, and similar juicy fruits. A
single young is produced, which clings to one of its mother's nipples
and is carried by her while she is feeding.
More facts about Peters' Epauletted Fruit Bats
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