Lesser Dawn Bats

Lesser Dawn Bats in cave roost

Habitat:
Lesser Dawn Bats have many different common names, more than most bats. Some include Dobson's Long-Tongued Fruit Bat, Cave Fruit Bat, Cave dwelling Blossom Bat, Cave Dwelling Nectar Eating Bats, and Common Nectar Bat. These bats live all over Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand etc. In short, everywhere where people grow durian.

They live in large colonies in caves. I have seen a colony of these bats in Bali, Indonesia, about 7 km west of the fishing village of Padang Bai, in Goa Lawah bat cave. Luckily this cave is part of a temple, so it is protected, and the bats are thought to be sacred, as are the pythons that live in the cave as well, feeding on some of the bats. These were the first bats I have seen in a colony, and the first Mega bats I have ever seen. (See Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera) There was an albino bat in the cave, and the bats were so interesting I started liking bats. I do not know the population of this cave, but the cave is several kilometres long, so the population is believed to be several million bats.

Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates bats. As many farmers mistakenly believe they damage the fruit of the trees, they will kill them in great numbers, not knowing the importance of chiropterophily. Their habitat is also being destroyed for development. As a result, the status of these bats is vulnerable. Soon, unless farmers are educated about the importance of bats, the bats will become extinct, so it will be impossible to grow durian, and countless other important plants. (See Pollination page)


A Lesser Dawn Bats in hand of biologist

Appearance:


Lesser Dawn Bats have dark brown fur on their backs, and lighter coloured fur on their underside. They have small, pointed ears, and small eyes, like most bats, with very good eyesight and a very good sense of smell. They have slender, fox like noses. Males are larger than the females, weighing 55g-82g, whereas females weigh around 35g-78g. The males have a darker coloured ruff of fur on their necks, but females don't have much hair around their necks. Their tongue is very long, and like most nectarivorous bats, has brush-like parts on it which help the bat lap up nectar. The wingspan of Lesser Dawn Bats is 37 to 40 cm. They have little or no tail. Unlike many bats, they lack a claw on their index finger. Lesser Dawn Bats are Megachiroptera.

A photo my father took of the Lesser Dawn Bats in Goa Lawah, the first Megachiroptera I have ever seen.
Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera:
The order of bats, Chiroptera, which in Latin means literally hand-wing, is divided into two sub-orders, Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera. Microchiroptera consists of about 70% of all the species of bats. They live all over the world, eat a varied diet, from fish to nectar, from insects to other bats, and echolocate. Megachiroptera live only in the Old World (Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe) and eat fruit and nectar, and though some fruit eating bats also eat insects for extra protein, as fruit is not very high in protein. These bats do not echolocate, and rely on their good eyesight and keen sense of smell to get around and find fruit. Their sense of smell is so well developed that some flying foxes can tell the difference between one thousandths of a gram of artificial banana extract and one thousandths of a gram of real banana from about 100m away! No bats are blind, contrary to popular belief, and some Megachiroptera can see twenty times as well as the average human! Megachiroptera, true to their name, are larger than Microchiroptera.