Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorous labiatus)

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A curious male Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorous labiatus) approaches Merlin for another fig. These bats, caught full grown in the wild, became so tame that they would fly to Merlin’s hand on call and permit him to groom and carry them to precise locations for photos, as will be describe in his new book, The Secret Lives of Bats, available for pre-publication orders on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/qzpxt69

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This adult male little epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorous labiatus) has his cheek pouches full of ripe figs in Kenya. Epauletted bats are essential seed dispersers and pollinators in African forests and savannahs.

Males appear to use these pouches primarily to enhance their courtship songs.

instagram / merlin tuttle photo Home is where the heart is!

Here a mixture of newly flying pups (gray) and adult females (rusty red) gather in the entrance of Bracken Cave, their home in Texas. Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis)

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