Messengers from Dark

The Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus) or the greater Indian fruit bat, is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. There are 30 species of bat species can be seen in Sri Lanka and the Indian flying fox is nocturnal and feeds mainly on ripe fruits.

Fruit-eating bats are vital to tropical reforestation due to their ability to disperse seeds to degraded areas. They are the messengers of tropical seed fruits from dark.

This world’s largest Indian flying fox mainly lives in tropical forests and swamps, near bodies of water and is classified as Least concern (LC) due to its wide range and apparent adaptability.

These images are captured at the Faculty premises, Faculty of Science – University of Colombo. Fruit bats are commonly seen among the Banyan (nuga) trees where they come for foraging while the fruiting seasons. Sometimes fruit bats become a major problem in several regions due to the pollution and disease vectoring happen from them.