Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
In June, netizens on Twitter were shocked by the upload of the @ AlexJoestar622 account that shared a photo bat giant sized. The bat, said to look like the size of a human in the photo, was sleeping in one of the residents’ houses.
According to photo captions, the animal is known to be authentic Filipina called ‘The Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox’.
This giant bat has another name Acerodon jubatus, one of the largest bat species in the world and is included in the megabats family category which can also be found in several parts of Africa, Asia, India and Oceania.
The largest species reach a wing span of 1.7 m but their bodies are quite small, only 30 cm long.
Even so, there are not a few who doubted that the bats belonged to the Acerodon jubatus species, but were considered to be included in the species of Pteropus vampyrus which had special physical characteristics namely long and pointed ears and a fox-like face.
In the Philippines, giant bats are endangered species because their habitats are increasingly eroded and hunted by humans as quoted Science Alert.
Acerodon Jubatus
Acerodon jubatus bats or The Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox are native and endemic to the Philippines.
Acerodon jubatus is usually found in the Palawan region, Batanes Island, and Babuyan Island.
Acerodon jubatus are noctrunal creatures, meaning they forage at night and can fly very far up to 40 km when looking for food.
Usually they gather in large colonies that can accommodate 150 thousand as they enter the fruit season. They live in groups and can easily escape from predators.
Reported Animalia, they can also coexist with bats from other species. The Acerodon jubatus bat species prefers the fruit of the fig tree, Ficus.
Acerodon jubatus is estimated to have two mating seasons per year but each female bat produces offspring only once a year and is ready to conceive at the age of two.
Female bats usually give birth in April – June and only give birth to one child bat.
Pteropus Vampyrus
Pteropus vampyrus is one of the largest bat species. They have long, thick hair.
The color and texture of the wing mantle differs between sexes and age classes. Male bats tend to have wings that are slightly stiffer and thicker than females.
While most immature bats have gray wings. While those who have reached adolescence to adulthood usually have jet black wings.
The hair on their heads is colored red or orange to blackish mahogany, while the abdomen is brown or black.
Pteropus vampyrus is commonly found in Southeast Asia, starting from the Malay Peninsula, eastern Philippines, Indonesia and Timor Leste.
These bats usually live in mangroves and coconut groves. In the Kalimantan Island region, they inhabit coastal areas but can move to nearby islands which produce a lot of fruit.
Pteropus vampyrus is a social creature that has thousands of colonies. One colony was even recorded at 2,000 individuals, some reported up to 20 thousand.
They are active at night and can fly up to 50 km in search of food.
Pteropus vampyrus is a herbivorous animal, flower eater, nectar, and fruit. They also consume pollen.
These bats are polygynous. The mating season varies and females give birth to only one bat. Then the pregnancy lasts about 140-190 days.
(In / FEA)
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