Large Flying Fox

Description:

I WISH I could see these in the wild but these were seen at Animal Kingdom in Florida. I thought they were so amazing, I just had to post. I kept going back to check them out. I've never seen anything like them. They are huge! The wing span is up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). They feed on flower, nectar, and fruit. I would love to hear from those of you who get to actually see these in the wild. I'm jealous! Also known as Malaysian Flying Fox or Greater Flying Fox, kalang or kalong.

Habitat:

The large flying fox ranges from Malay Peninsula, to the Philippines in the east and Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Timor in the south. Flying foxes inhabit primary forest, mangrove forest, coconut groves, mixed fruit orchards, and a number of other habitats. During the day, trees in mangrove forests and coconut groves may be used as roosts. In Malaysia, flying foxes prefer lowland habitats below 365 m. In Borneo, they inhabit the coastal areas, but move to nearby islands to feed on fruit. Flying foxes roost in the thousands (maximum). One colony was recorded numbering around 2,000 individuals in a mangrove forest in Timor and colonies of 10,000-20,000 have also been reported. In general, mangrove roosts have lower numbers of resting bats compared to lowland roost sites, which could mean mangroves forests are only used temporarily. (Wiki)