Epauletted Fruit Bat

Bats and rodents are not everyone’s cup of tea, but in South Africa’s wild places they’re very much at home and a crucial component of the ecosystem. During our visit to the Kruger National Park in December 2021 we were lucky, though not all equally happy 😉 , to bump into a few of them in and around Satara Rest Camp.

The Red Veld Rat (aka Red Rock Rat) sauntered closer to Marilize while I was busy taking pictures of the Brown-backed Tree Frog one night.

We seem to be more forgiving of rodents that roam during the daylight, like these cute and cuddly Southern African Tree Squirrels.

Southern African Tree Squirrel

Southern African Tree Squirrel sneaking a drink

Squirrel hijacking our car while we were having a picnic

Now Bats again are a different story. I’ve heard them being referred to as the “rats of the air”. If you could look past their appearance, often smelly colonies, and the fact that they are indeed carriers of some pretty serious diseases, they are actually a quite fascinating and diverse group of creatures!

As yet unidentified insect-eating bat that unfortunately grounded itself

The identity of this insect-eating bat, roosting against a tree trunk, has me stumped.

Free-tailed Bat juvenile that fell from the roost (photo by Joubert)

Epauletted Fruit Bats

Mauritian Tomb Bat

Mauritian Tomb Bats (photo by Joubert)

Mauritian Tomb Bats

Epomophorus crypturus,

Epomophorus wahlbergi

In South Africa we have two species of Epauletted Fruit Bat, often occurring together in mixed colonies and indistinguishable from each other in the field. These are Peters’s (E. crypturus) and Wahlberg’s (E. wahlbergi) Epauletted Fruit Bats. They’re distributed in the moist eastern parts of our country, with Wahlberg’s occurring from the Garden Route through to the Lowveld while Peters’s occurs as far south as the Eastern Cape coast. Both species are also found further north into central and east Africa and are considered to be of least concern by the IUCN.

Epauletted Fruit Bats are large bats, weighing around 100g with wingspans of about 50cm. They inhabit forests, riverine woodland and dense savannas in which there’s a preponderance of fruiting trees. Unfortunately their fondness for soft fruit make them a nuisance in orchards.

Epauletted Fruit Bats are mainly nocturnal though they may be seen about on heavily overcast days. They utter a frog-like pinging call, a familiar night sound in many of the wild places we visit and a personal favourite. By day they hang in deep shade in trees or under thatched roofs, often in noisy colonies numbering from a few individuals into the hundreds. They normally search for food singly, although large groups may congregate at fruiting trees. Most babies are born in early summer, with the single baby clinging to its mother’s nipples as she flies around in search of food.