Picture a furry fox face with large dark eyes and a dog-like snout, but attached to long, leathery wings instead of legs for running. Its neck and shoulders are often warm yellow or rusty orange, grading into darker brown along the back, with a lighter chest and belly. When it hangs upside down in a tree during the day, wrapped in its own wings like a cloak, it can look like a strange fruit or a folded umbrella among the leaves. When it takes off and spreads its wings, the span can be close to a meter wide, so even from far away it’s easy to spot against the sky.

This flying fox is a classic fruit and nectar specialist. At dusk, individuals and small groups leave their roosts in tall trees and glide out over forests, farms, and villages to feed. They love soft, sweet fruits like mangoes, figs, and breadfruit, and will also lick nectar from flowers, getting dusted in pollen as they go.

Instead of chewing and swallowing everything, they usually crush fruit with their strong jaws, suck out the juice and soft pulp, and spit out much of the fiber and seeds. Those seeds either fall beneath their feeding perch or are carried farther away and dropped later, so every feeding trip doubles as a seed-spreading mission. In this way, Seychelles flying foxes act as night-time gardeners, helping forests recover from storms, human disturbance, and normal wear and tear by continually planting new trees without even trying.

They’re also more visible and bold than many people expect from bats. Seychelles flying foxes often roost in loose colonies in trees near villages and beaches, where people can easily see them hanging in bunches during the day. They’re mostly active at dawn and dusk rather than deep in the night, so it’s common to see them circling overhead while the sky is still bright.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Comoros

2016

Mayotte

2016

Seychelles

2016

Tanzania

2016