Search

Bats in my porch: 8. Female with young

on 22nd August 2014

By late July 2014 a lone adult female Common Fruit Bat (Cynopterus brachyotis) with a baby clinging to her arrived one morning to roost in the porch (above). The female is recognised by her yellow-orange collar, as compared to the dark orange-red male collar LINK. Juveniles lack such a collar.

The baby was actively suckling and excess milk leaked onto the floor, leaving whitish stains (below). Note the engorged nipples of the adult female.

The pair was stubborn, not flying off even when shooed. So they were left alone and observed.

The young appeared to be weaning as after a session of suckling, it left the comfort of the mother’s body to be by itself (below) – or was the young pushed off gently as part of the scheme to make it independent?

That evening the mother left the roosting site together with a few others to forage. The young was left along and wandered around.

According to this LINK, both sexes take care of the young and the male plays an active role in lactation and feeding the young. As in all mammals, the male has a pair of nipples that may be engorged, especially when they eat plants that contain estrogen-like compounds that can stimulate milk production LINK.

YC Wee
Singapore
August 2014

Reference:
Medway, L. 1969. The wild mammals of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) and Singapore. Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur. Second Edition. 131pp.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

One Response

Leave a Reply to Bird Ecology Study Group Bats in my porch: 19. Does the male helps look after the pup? Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
780
14642
Visitors Today
51787770
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)