Who knew bats could get so big?

A few months ago, I remember wondering if there were any big bats out there. Well, it turns out there are.



Wikipedia

The Pemba Flying Fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae.[2] It is endemic to the island of Pemba in Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. Recent conservation success has risen their numbers to between 22,000 and 36,000 from just a few individuals twenty years ago.

Known as the world's largest fruit bat, the Pemba Flying Fox has a wingspan of up to 5.5 feet and weigh up to half a kilo. They are also social mammals, living in colonies of up to 850 bats. That must be one crazy bat cave!

In the zoo:



And in the wild:

Sweet bearded Jesus that thing is huge!! I didn't know they could get that big either. That thing could tote off a toddler!

S&F for simply teaching me something new today.

reply to post by darkbake


I don't believe the first photo in your OP is real....sorry.

ETA:...I was wrong. Another member set me straight. S&F for the OP.

Des

Originally posted by Destinyone
reply to post by darkbake

 

I don't believe the first photo in your OP is real....sorry.

Des

en.wikipedia.org...

www.bbc.co.uk...

reply to post by Destinyone


I think the photo is real but the photographer used forced perspective to make it look bigger than it actually is. these bats are big but not as big as it seems in the picture.

I used forced perspective while taking photos of camel spiders in iraq and it made them look bigger than my head

They're cute.

Originally posted by Hawking

Originally posted by Destinyone
reply to post by darkbake

 

I don't believe the first photo in your OP is real....sorry.

Des

en.wikipedia.org...

www.bbc.co.uk...

WOW...I was very wrong....TY for posting the link for me. Would hate to run into one of those big fellas, that's for sure.

Des

Originally posted by RealSpoke


They're cute.

until they mutate into bloodsuckers
from eating GMO fruit


would be awesome at parties
i mean the ones the noisy and inconsiderate neighbors throw

reply to post by darkbake


Thank you for the amazing post. The bat in the first photograph is enormous - as far as my knowledge of bats goes.There are items in the mouth of the bat - are they eggs or a type of fruit I wonder? Wonderful post and thanks again for sharing.

Much Peace...

reply to post by Destinyone


Well I think you were right to a degree anyway, the first picture does seem to be using some serious forced perspective (the bat is very close to the camera and that seems to be a very small guy who is further away).

I doubt they get to be 5 ft long as it seems in the pic, but either way they're bigger than I'd be comfortable in a room with...

Originally posted by Amanda5
reply to post by darkbake

 

Thank you for the amazing post. The bat in the first photograph is enormous - as far as my knowledge of bats goes.There are items in the mouth of the bat - are they eggs or a type of fruit I wonder? Wonderful post and thanks again for sharing.

Much Peace...

Looks like bananas to me.

BATMANUEL!

Hee hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha.....

Their wing span can be 5-6 feet but their bodies are quite smaller.