Ode to the Friendly Fruit Bat

I understand this is an incredibly random topic for a post…but I have been recently contemplating the enormous (and ridiculously cute) fruit bats who squeak at me as I stroll under them on a daily basis and couldn’t resist creating a piece of writing in their honour.  

Fuzzy and furry with wings! (Photo credit: Fritz Gellar-Grimm.)

After extensive research, I have concluded that Bangladeshi fruit bats are, quite simply, awesome.  Here are four reasons why these mammals are wicked cool:   

1. Fruit Bats are CUTE!  -  As I mentioned before, these things are like kittens with wings.  They peer down at you with wide googley eyes that make my heart melt (Dani agrees FYI.  This is not a unique case of my brand of weirdness!) and I can’t help but grow fond of them.  Kittens.  With wings. Inherently awesome.      

2. Fruit Bats are BIG – Apparently, the wingspan of the species that lives in Bangladesh can reach up to almost four feet.  That’s pretty big folks!   

3. Fruit Bats are actually FLYING FOXES – Technically, fruit bats and flying foxes are the same thing.  Who knew?  I see flying foxes every day.  Awesome.    

4. Unlike most bat species, they do not rely on “sonar systems” to guide their flight.  Their enormous googley eyes enable them to see in the dark and day.  Those killer eyes serve a purpose!

Anyways, that marks the end of my ode to the awesomeness of fruit bats.  If you take one thing from this, remember, Kitten + Wings = Fruit Bats = Awesome!