Range

The Rodrigues fruit bat is currently restricted to the island of Rodrigues off the coast of Africa.

Populations previously existed on Maurtitus but these are now extinct. Fossils have been found on Round Island which are listed as being from the Rodrigues fruit bat but this requires further research to confirm.

Habitat

They make their home in forested areas with large trees in which they can roost. These areas of forest need to be large enough to protect against cyclones which can blown over smaller forested areas and wash the bats out to sea.

-- AD --

Reproduction

Wild Rodriguez fruit bats will give birth to their young from October to December. In captivity they are able to breed year round and some have been recorded to give birth twice in a year.

A single male controls a harem of eight females with which he mates. He will sniff and groom a female with which he wants to mate. Both will vocalize loudly while mating.

Their gestation is 5 months. At the conclusion of this a single pup is born. While giving birth the female will hang horizontally allowing the baby to crawl on to her stomach. Births typically take place alone though in an isolated case in captivity another fruit bat was observed helping a mother who struggled to give birth.

At birth the infant is furred and has its eyes open. They will cling to the mothers fur where they are carried for the start of their life. The young are feed milk from a teat under the armpit.

The pup remains attached to the mother for 30 days. At this point it is too heavy and is left with the other pups at the roost. By 50 days they are flapping the wings to build strength in them and by 2-3 months old they will be weaned and flying.

They will continue to roost with their mother until they are one year old.

Males are not involved in raising the young.

Sexual maturity is reached at 2 years old.

Behavior

Rodrigues fruit bats live in groups led by a single male with up to 8 females. Males who are not leading a harem will gather together to roost. During the day these groups roost in a tree and defend their territory against other groups. When roosting they will hang upside down. Each roost may contain thousands of bats.

They are nocturnal and active at night when they will feed socialize.

They are not capable of echolocation like smaller bats as they eat fruit not insects.

Their primary method of communication is through scent marking. They rub their musky odor over tree branches, foliage and other bats.

Predators and Threats

They face predation from rats and mynah birds.

During the 1970s numbers of these bats dropped so low that it was feared a single event such as a hurricane could be responsible for sending the species extinct. As such groups were collected for breeding programs both on the island and in zoos in Europe. This effort was led by the Durrell Trust.

Populations have primarily been threatened by habitat loss since humans first came to the island. Conservation efforts are underway to restore habitat to provide larger areas for the bats. At present they are restricted to a single valley of remnant vegetation.

It is believed that at present the island is supporting as many bats as it has the resources for and as such reintroductions have stopped.

Previously they were hunted by island residents as a food source though this is now considered rare.

Quick facts

Bats are the only mammals which are capable of true flight.