Malayan flying fox

With a wingspan of 1.5–1.7m, these are some of the largest bats in the world.

At the Fragile Forest biodome, feel the breeze as they flap past you, sometimes missing you by inches. There’s no cause for alarm — these frugivorous bats mean no harm. They’re just probably in a hurry to get to the feeding platform. Landing on the tips of the branches decked out with juicy fruit by the keepers, they quickly fall into an upside-down position to feed, hanging on by the claws on their toes.

Their toe claws provide such a powerful grip they can hang on with one foot while feeding with the other! Slicing the rind with their teeth, they extract the fruit with their long tongue, which is also used to lap up nectar.

The thumb claw is used as a hook to help them move along branches. Males also use it to settle turf wars. Highly territorial by nature, they communicate ownership by spreading their wings, growling, or making hostile noises.

The flying foxes have huge eyes with keen eyesight to locate fruits and flowers at night. They can eat up to half of their body weight in fruit on a daily basis.

When sated, they right themselves and do a “free-fall” take off to look for a roosting spot. They also turn the right side up in order to defecate. They rest head down, wings wrapped around their bodies.

They do not have sweat glands. On hot days, they cool down by fanning their wings. When that doesn’t work, they seek shade and then lick themselves all over — the evaporation of their saliva helps cool their bodies.