A feast in the dark

I stood under the tree, the light from the sun was growing dimmer and dimmer. Just before the sun could disappear, there came a party so wild, it engulfed the tree. A colony of fruit bats had just arrived and they were feasting off the figs, of the tree I was standing under.

The Cluster Fig Tree had been fruiting for a few days and these Short-nosed Fruit Bats would come every evening to get their share of nature's produce. Every bat would circle around the tree until it found a fig of it's choice. Then, it would head straight towards those figs, cling on to them and with a few flaps of its leathery wings, would get a fig loose and fly away with it's prize. This happened till every bat had a fig to call it's own. The tree seemed lifeless for sometime then, came one bat followed by another and then another, until the whole colony was foraging again. I tried taking a few shots, but they were too fast, and I could shoot only a wing or a blur somewhere in the corner of the photograph. So, I decided to watch them instead and photographed only what they were after, plump and juicy figs.

Indian Short-nosed Fruit Bat (Cynopterus sphinx)

Luckily, I was able to get a close-range shot of this winged beauty. A bat, after escaping from a crow, hid among a few palm leaves in my backyard. It was roosting low enough for me to stand on a stool and take a few shots.The Short-nosed Fruit Bat is a small bat and is a frugivore ( eats fruits). It is usually attracted by aromatic fruits( just like the Cluster Figs near my home ).

Cluster Figs

Plump & Juicy

I have also recorded this bat feeding on the fruits of the Golden Cane Palm, which is widely planted in gardens. Also I have seen them feed off the Jamaica Cherry Tree.They feed on the pulp of fruits and are also known to feed on nectar and pollen.

Fruit bat dropping

The above photograph shows bat droppings. You can say that in the particular area that It was found, the bat probably eats figs. It's because you can see numerous, small fig seeds in the droppings. These bats usually roost in small groups in trees or under leaves. They are important vectors of pollination and many fruiting trees also depend on them for seed dispersal.

Buds of a Golden Cane Palm

These bats are amazing and it's quite exciting to see one from close. Thats because I(and most others) am used to seeing bats fly in the sky and not face to face. Hope they are never forced to leave the locality I live in.

Tip: If you'd like to find bats yourself, you can try this. Find a tree which is fruiting at night and has a distinct aroma. You could also look for trees flowering, after dusk. Go there at around 15 minutes to 6:00pm or just before the sun goes down. You might just be able to see these small fruit bats fluttering around. Just be careful and watch out for dropping waste. The bats sometimes spit out seeds along with fruit pulp, this might land on your face :)

If you'd like a list of quite a few flowering trees in Bangalore, here's the link. It was compiled by Mr.Karthikeyan, a noted Naturalist.

http://wildwanderer.com/flowers/Flowering_Trees_consolidated.pdf