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Indian flying fox - PTEROPUS GIGANTEUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Bat": "Bat" comes from Old Norse "ledhrblaka," "leather flapper." It became "bakka" and then "bat."
Location: India.
Habitat: Prefers tropical and subtropical forests.
Description: This is a very large bat with a foxlike head and ears, large eyes, two claws on its wings, and no tail. Its fur is coarse, with a reddish brown head with dark muzzle, the neck and shoulders are yellow, the back is brown, and it is yellowish brown on the belly. Its length is about 9 in, with a forearm of about 6.8 in, and it weighs 20 to 22 oz.
Behavior: With a wingspan up to 4 feet, this is one of the largest of the 67 species of flying foxes. The largest has a wingspan of five feet. This Indian species is commonly seen during the day roosting in large colonies, or "camps," high up in the trees. They spend the morning chattering and jockeying for preferred roosting sites on the branches, where they hang by their feet. They pass most of the day asleep with their wings wrapped around themselves. At night they fly to favorite foraging areas, where they feed in the trees on all sorts of ripe fruit (except citrus). The flying fox swallows only the juice, spitting out the pulp.
Reproduction: A single young is born in February, after a gestation of 140 to 150 days, and clings to its mother for about two months until nearly full size.
Go to the Bats Page to get a general discussion of this flying mammal.
Go to the Bats Index to study the other bats included in America Zoo.
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