Short-Nosed Fruit Bats
Tent-makers that don't mind the crowds
In Sai Kung, and all over Hong Kong, this fruit bat creates its own unique "tent" in the fronds of two
common exotic ornamental trees, the Chinese Fan Palm (Livistona chinensis) and Petticoat Palm (Washingtonia robusta). This is the only one of our 26 local bat species that does this. Making a tent requires the male bat to do some chewing of the veins of the frond so that the distal leaflets collapse, forming a flask-shaped tent. It takes the bat two or three nights of work to make this useful site for his harem. Cute little creatures that they are, the male can attract up to 24 females to join him. In return, he demands exclusive reproductive rights, but defends
| Short-nosed Fruit Bat |
their safety.
Another curious thing about these particular bats is that they don't mind the urban environment. Although they also make their homes in woodlands, hills and occasionally under the roof of a house, they are widely distributed in urban areas, according to the AFCD urban bat surveys. Considering its very common status, this fruit bat obviously is very tolerant or very capable of blocking out the constant human and traffic noises.
Roosts of these fruit bats were found in about 6% of the Chinese Fan Palms in the AFCD survey, although
| Roost of the Short-nosed Fruit Bat with bite marks on the Chinese Fan Palm |
a number of other palms had bite marks but no bats. Most of the time the bats congregate in palms between five and 10 metres tall though they have been found in ones as short as 3.5 metres. Since there are few Petticoat palms used as urban ornamental trees, few fruit bat roosts were found in them in the survey.
So, the next time you're wandering around a park or playground in Sai Kung, take a take a peep underneath the fan palms – there might not be a sound in that tent but you'll know what's been going on there.
The AFCD urban survey is ongoing and they would welcome learning of your encounters with any bite marks or roosts of the Short-nosed Fruit Bat in your neighbourhood Chinese Fan Palms. Please inform them by email, providing as many details as possible, including location, estimated height of tree, number of bite marks and/or number of bats and date and time of sighting. ct_shek@afcd.gov.hk. |
Information provided by the H.K. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. Many thanks to Mr. C. T. Shek, AFCD Conservation Officer (Biodiversity).