PLEASE be careful opening this cache so you don't drop the logbook.
When someone asks what your favourite animal is, it's easy to go with the classics. Dogs, cats, horses, monkeys. But what about when you consider animals that don't pop into your head within five seconds? The world is full of awesome creatures, and here's a few of my favourites!
Flying Foxes (Pteroptus) are a genus of bats found in the southern hemisphere in countries such as India, Indonesia and Australia. They are part of a classification of bats known as "Megabats", which are fruit-eating bats that are relatively large in size and navigate by sight. This is in contast to "Microbats", which is what most people think of when they imagine bats; the smaller, insect-eating bats that have tiny eyes and navigate by echolocation.
Flying Foxes range from a quarter pound to about three and half pounds, and have a wingspan of around five feet. Each wing has a single claw, equivalent to a 'thumb' on other creatures such as humans, that they use along with thier feet to climb and hang from surfaces. Flying Foxes cannot stand up, as their pelvis is rotated 180 degrees when compared to other mammals, so they move about almost exclusively by climbing and flying. They are, however, also capable of crawling and even swimming. Flying Foxes cannot initiate flight from the ground, as they need room to descend before catching the air and ascending. In urban areas, Flying Foxes often get trapped in places like balconies and atriums because the walls are too smooth to climb up, which in turn gives them nowhere to take off from.
Flying Foxes are considered the smartest family of bats. They're very intelligent and clever, and are good at finding ways to escape and evade predators. They feed mostly on fruit such as mangoes, figs, bananas and papayas, and also enjoy eucalyptus blossoms. Flying Foxes have an excellent sense of smell, as well as large ears and wide, expressive eyes to be on the lookout for danger. Flying Foxes generally live in large colonies of hundreds of bats. They will gather in trees together to sleep and rest during the day, and then all depart at once during sunset in 'flyouts' that are spectacular sights to see.
Flying Foxes are sometimes called "Sky Puppies", and it's not hard to see why. I really love their adorable little puppy dog faces and their cute mannerisms. The screeching sounds they make can be pretty funny, especially when they're yelling at something that's bothering them. They often get the cutest expressions when they're feeding on fruit. My favourite variety in particular is the Grey-Headed Flying Fox.
I discovered Flying Foxes, and learned a lot about them, when I found the Youtube channel Megabattie. Meg is a licensed wildlife rescuer who specialises in rescuing Flying Foxes when they get into trouble, and she posts videos of the rescues to her Youtube channel. She very often provides lots of insight during and after the rescue, especially when interacting with members of the public while doing so, and she has a fantastic sense of humour to boot.
People who are scared of bats are almost certainly scared of Microbats specifically. If you or someone you know claims to be afraid of bats, take a look at Megabats and you might find they're not as scary as you think.
This cache is hanging, just like the Flying Foxes love to do.