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Bats in my porch: 13. Territory and Courtship

on 7th September 2014

At 17:30h on the 17th August 2014, a lone male Common Fruit Bat (Cynopterus brachyotis) arrived in my porch to stake his territory (above). Hanging quietly from a wooden strip, he soon began to actively groom himself – licking and stretching his wings (below). Soon he crawled about the roof.

By 19:00h a lone female flew in and landed by his side. With her arrival, he immediately directed his attention at her – unfolding his wings and flapping them to expose her to his scent, as well as grooming his penis LINK. Unfortunately she was disinterested and he moved away.

By 19:20h more bats flew in to increase the colony to eight. Then, yet more flew in, some roosting, others flying out. The colony soon increased to ten.

There were a few males flying in, maybe trying to displace the existing male, but without success. One was chased away by the resident male.

By19:30h a few individuals flew out, obviously to forage. Soon, the colony decreased in number.

By 23:00h about nine bats were still hanging from the roof. All this time the resident male was moving around, flapping his wings and checking out the females. But there was not successful mating up to then.

The edited video clip above gives an idea of the happenings in the roosting site on the evening of 17th August 2014.

YC Wee
Singapore
August 2014

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.

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