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Attracting bats to your garden…

on 15th September 2021

Common Fruit Bats (Cynopterus brachyotis) are usually found during the day roosting in caves, on the under-surface of flyovers, under the eaves of houses, on branches of trees, etc. With the coming of dusk they fly off in search of food. Most of the time they bring their food to eat while hanging down from their roost. They thus dirty the ground below with their droppings and food remnants. And if you want to photograph bats, you need to visit their roosting sites or their feeding areas after dusk.

Dr. Francis Seow-Choen had a different idea. He managed to lure bats to his garden so that he could photograph them in comfort. This he did in May 2020. He stuck a partially peeled banana at a leaf base of a young palm. He kept vigil after dusk with his camera at the ready. At around 7pm, not one but two bats flew in to get at the banana. Unable to bring the banana back to their roost, the two bats flew around, taking turns to cling onto the banana to take bites. The bats left only when the banana was totally eaten.

Common Fruit Bats roosting under the roof of a porch HERE and taking nectar from banana flowers HERE.

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

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