COMMON SHORT-NOSED FRUIT BAT Cynopterus brachyotis Family Pteropodidae This is the most common fruit bat in built-up areas and disturbed lowland habitats. It is common and widely distributed. It measures from 88-110 mm in length. This bat was rescued from Barkley, our Boston Terrier. Apart from looking and sounding very frightened, it seemed uninjured. It did not have any wounds. I never realized that bats made a lot of squeaking noises. We were able to rescue it in the first place because we heard it crying. It also made sounds the whole time we tried to return it to a tree. Lala Española said, "They're sensitive to stress and need time to rest undisturbed. That's why sugar water is usually given after handling to help them recover. The crying is nothing to be alarmed about since they do it all the time when feeding on a fruit tree." It stayed in the tree even it became dark. When I checked on it the following morning, it was gone. I was wondering whether this was a juvenile because it looked so small. Lala Española said, "Btw, you can tell the age if you put a flashlight under a joint in the wing. You'll be able to see the degree of development from cartilage to bone. Another way is to tell age is if it is lactating or has a baby attached to it--meaning adult female. But, of course, someone trained to handle bats should be the one to do it."

batcommon short nosed fruit batfruit batcynopterus brachyotisalabang