Sulawesi Flying Fox

About this species

This species is endemic to the Sulawesi, Buton, and several smaller Indonesian islands (Mangole, Sanana, Siau, Sangihe, Selayar). It prefers lowland habitats with an elevation of up to 1,500 m asl. The Sulawesi flying fox is a frugivore, feeding preferentially on coconuts and breadfruits. The species roosts in trees—often in mangrove forests—and is somewhat sensitive to human disturbance. Roosting sites may be shared with the black flying fox, which occupies the lower branches while the Sulawesi flying fox keeps to the higher ones. (Wikipedia, general species account).

It takes 12–34 minutes for food to pass through the digestive tract of the species. Aside from nursing the young, the mother carries her pup out of camp each night in search of food. This stage in a pup's life ends when the pup learns how to fly and can search for their own food, which generally occurs eight to ten weeks after birth. While their diets consist mainly of fruit, these bats' favorite food is the pollen and nectar of eucalyptus blossoms; however, due to a shortage of these and other preferred blossoms, flying fruit foxes are forced to feed on the less favorable exotic and cultivated fruit in Sulawesi. (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of sulawesi guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)