A flying fox named Robin

If you have ever wondered what the skin of a flying fox’s wing feels like, how the animals manage to move through the tree canopies in such an acrobatic way, and how flying fox youngsters (normally hang­ing upside down) avoid spoiling their fur during, you know, defecation, there was an opportunity to find out in early August.

     At the end of July, a very young flying fox was found lying help­less on the road; we assumed he had fallen off his mother. He was healthy but still too young to fly and dependent on his mother’s milk, warmth and care. However, all attempts to reunite him with her that same evening failed, so that Anke, our former marine biologist, de­cided to “adopt” him. Robin, as he was then named, was approximate­ly two months old and, just like other babies, demanded a lot of milk (fed in three-hour intervals with the help of a syringe and a piece of cloth that he liked to suck on), regular cleaning, space to stretch his wings and, of course, a lot of sleep! During the day, he hung on a branch outside the Dive Centre and attracted many curious guests, while at night he was wrapped in pieces of cloth to keep him warm and to imitate the mother’s wings folded around him.  On my arrival in October, not only did I take over Anke's projects, I also took over the position of 'bat mum' and suddenly found myself almost permanently with a fruit bat hanging off my shoulder.  Over the coming months he was gradually introduced to soft fruits and guava smoothies, and began developing his flight muscles by flapping his wings whilst holding tightly to his beloved coat hanger outside my bedroom.  After a few crash landings into the sand, by November he was flying freely and returning to be fed just twice a day.  He gradually returned less and less for feeding, indeicating he was becoming more and more independent.  He can now be found up in the palm trees eating juvenile coconuts and licking insects from the underside of leaves.