# 2. Enquiry by: Brennan Glansbeek: 6 May 2009

"Hi, would you know what sort of bat this is? The pictures were taken near Hartebeespoort Dam at night. They sound like monkeys at night?"

Reply by Julio Balona:

"The bat is a male Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat, Epomophorus wahlbergi. The 'epaulettes' refer to the white tufts of hair on the shoulders and only the male has them.
He sits in a tree and makes a pulsating call to attract a mate. While he does so the epaulettes are raised which are normally not obvious.
The call itself has been linked to that of a bicycle pump and is probably what you're referring to when you say they sound like monkeys.
You can hear it and compare by clicking play at https://www.ewt.org.za/downloadables_ringtones.aspx, under Animal Calls, Fruit bat.

These attractive bats subsist on fruits and berries and are also known to pollinate baobab trees by feeding on the flower nectar. In savannah woodland and forest areas they are fairly common and even in subtropical developed areas like Durban they are a regular presence.
They are the only fruit bats likely to be found in Gauteng. Although they are found in parts of Pretoria (e.g. Botanical Gardens, Wonderboom), they are so far rare or absent further south to Johannesburg.

We're really lucky to have such fascinating and appealing animals living so near to our neighbourhood."

Reply by Brennan Glansbeek:

"Thank you very much for that. I have attached another photo that I took in St lucia as I thought those were the Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat. Obviously I am confusing my species! LOL. The ones in St lucia seemed a whole lot smaller?"

Reply by Julio Balona

"The fruit bats in Gauteng are highly unlikely to be anything but Wahlberg's, while in St. Lucia it could be also be the Gambian epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus gambianus). However the two species are basically identical in size and appearance. In the field the only way to tell them apart is if you have a specimen in the hand and can examine the ridges on the palate of the mouth.

I'm guessing the St. Lucia ones are nevertheless the more common Wahlberg's and probably just seem smaller.

Interesting to note that the two bats on the left appear to be carrying babies. "

#1. Enquiry by Richard Blindell. 1 April 2009

"I've just taken these two photos, the group and one that is on its own about a metre away, in a large ficus tree at the top of our driveway near the garage. We live in Waterfall, near Hillcrest, KZN. I used a flash and telephoto setting which makes them look a bit lighter in colour than they actually are.

They must have been coming and going for a few months as we have wondered why our 'pavement special' dog has been barking (looking upwards) at the tree quite frequently at night during this time. We thought there might have been a snake there. Our gardener spotted them and pointed them out to my daughter yesterday.

I presume they are fruit bats by comparison with photos on your site."

Reply by Julio Balona

"They are indeed Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bats. Fortunately they are not uncommon in the Durban region.
I'm guessing that they have moved into your area recently to take advantage of trees that are currently fruiting nearby. They are very fond of ficus fruits but do not seem to use the same tree for roosting and feeding. This and the fact that they tend to comically stuff their mouths with fruit and fly way to eat it elsewhere, makes me think that a fruiting tree will attract all sorts of animals including predators and so they would rather not hang around there."

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