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Bio Facts
| Common Name: | Straw-Colored Fruit Bat | 
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| Scientific Name: | Eidolon helvum | |
| Family: | Pteropodidae | |
| Order: | Chiroptera | |
| Class: | Mammalia | |
| Range: | Southwest Arabian Peninsula, forested areas south of Sahara and Madagascar | |
| Habitat: | Forests and savannas-elevation up to 6,500 feet above sea level. | |
| Description: | Reddish-brown to yellowish-brown fur. Eyes and ears are large. Bodies are approximately 5.7 to 9 inches in length, and wings span up to 30 inches. Females are usually larger in size. Weight is between 8 to 12.25 ounces. | |
| Life Expectancy: | 15 years in the wild and over 20 years in captivity | |
| Sexual Maturity: | Approximately 2 years | |
| Diet: | In the wild, they eat flowers, bark, leaves and fruits. In the Zoo, they are fed bat mix, apples, oranges, bananas, grapes and cantaloupe. | |
| Status: | Not listed | |
| Behaviors: | Straw-colored
fruit bats are crepuscular (active during twilight), but more diurnal
(day active) in the winter months.
Offspring can weigh up to 1.75 ounces at birth. Generally, just a single offspring is born. The gestation period is 9 months. These bats live in colonies of several hundred. During migrations, their numbers climb to one million. |
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| Adaptations: | Modified body for flying. They have powerful claws. The thumb is used for crawling, hanging, and manipulating objects. | |
| Special Interest: | For
a long time, humans have associated bats with mice—even though
they are not related at all.
Chiroptera in Greek means “hand and wing.” Fledermaus is the German word for bat. It means, “flying mouse.” In French, it is referred to as chauve souris meaning “bald mouse.” |
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| Folklore: | In parts of Asia, the bat is considered to be a sign of good luck. A Chinese design of five bats arranged in a circle (The Chinese Five Bats) symbolizes wealth, love, virtue, old age, and natural death. This is called the wu-fu symbol, and is frequently used as a good luck charm. | |
| Conservation: | The main threat to bats is habitat destruction. Fruit- eating bats, such as the straw-colored fruit bat, disperse seeds and pollinate some tropical plants. | |
| Jacksonville Zoo History: | Since its first arrival in April 1996, this colony has been one of the more important breeding colonies in North America. | |
| Revised: July 2001 | ||
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All content copyright 2008 Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Site design and development by Idea Integration, Inc. |
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