A medium-sized fruit bat that looks like a fox with wings, drifting over turquoise island lagoons. It has a dog-like face with dark, watchful eyes, tall ears, and a furry “collar” of lighter brown or golden fur around its neck and shoulders, while the rest of its body and wings are darker chocolate or black. Its wingspan can stretch close to a metre across, letting it glide easily between the tall forest trees of Palau. In the daytime, these bats hang upside down in groups in the canopy, wrapping their thin, leathery wings around themselves like cloaks. From a distance, they can look like clusters of dry leaves, until they shift, stretch, or suddenly burst into the air. At night, they become graceful flyers, crossing over reefs and mangroves in search of food.

What makes the Pelew flying fox truly special is how important it is to the forests of Palau. This bat feeds mainly on fruits, flowers and soft parts of plants, especially from local trees like figs and other native species. As it chews the juicy parts and spits out pulp and seeds, or drops seeds in its droppings, it accidentally plants new trees far from the parent plant. It also laps up nectar from blossoms and gets dusted with pollen, turning it into a flying pollination service.

Because Palau is made up of small islands, many plants depend on animals that can move between patches of forest, and the Pelew flying fox is one of the best at this job. You can think of it as a “sky gardener” that quietly works the night shift, helping to keep future forests growing after storms, typhoons and human disturbance. Without it, some trees would spread much more slowly, and the whole forest community would feel the loss.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Micronesia

2025

Palau

2025