Lyle's Flying-fox (Pteropus lylei) lives in tropical forests across Southeast Asia. It feeds on nectar and fruit. Its conservation status is Vulnerable.
Fascinating facts about the Lyle's Flying-fox
- Lyle's flying fox lives across a thin strip of southern Asia hugging the Gulf of Thailand, stretching from southern Thailand through central and southern Cambodia to the extreme southwestern tip of Vietnam, and even a lone outpost has been recorded in Yunnan, China.
- While most of their feeding happens under cover of night, Lyle's flying fox colonies stay bustling in daylight, with mothers nursing pups and bats vocalising among the canopy. To reach distant orchards they can travel up to 50 km (31 mi) between roosts.
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies Lyle's flying fox as "vulnerable" after estimating a population drop of more than 30 % in the past fifteen years. This steep decline is driven by hunters in Thailand and Cambodia, farmers killing bats to protect orchards, and the loss of roost trees that can become leaf-free and die if not replanted, meaning the species faces a perfect storm of hunting and habitat loss.
- At the Bat Pagoda in Sóc Trăng, Vietnam, a roosting colony of thousands of Lyle's flying foxes lives side-by-side with the larger flying fox, nesting high in temple trees that monks deliberately protect.
- When Lyle's flying foxes bite into mango, cashew, dragonfruit, Java apple and other tropical fruits, they chew the pulp and spit out most seeds, yet a portion of the seeds are swallowed and later excreted, traveling dozens of kilometres away.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeSoutheast Asia
HabitatTropical forests
DietNectar and fruit
About the Lyle's Flying-fox
In the velvety blackness of a Southeast Asian night, the Lyle's Flying-fox unfurls its majestic wings, a dark silhouette against the moonlit sky as it takes to the air with a soft whoosh of leathery folds. With each powerful beat, it propels itself through the darkness, a master of the night, navigating by the faint scent of ripening fruit and the whispered calls of its kin. As it banks and turns, the wind ruffles its rich, chestnut-brown fur, revealing the subtle beauty of this vulnerable giant, a creature of haunting beauty and fragile existence.
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