“When at rest or asleep, the disposition of the limbs is most curious. At such times it suspends itself by one foot only, bringing the other close to its side, and thus it is enabled to wrap itself in the ample folds of its wings, which must envelop it like a mantle, leaving only its upturned head uncovered. Its fur is thus protected from damp and rain, and to some extent its body is sheltered from the sun.
“As it collects its food by means of its mouth, either when on the wing or when suspended within reach of it, the Flying Fox is always more or less liable to have the spoil wrested from it by its intrusive companions, before it can make good its way to some secure retreat in which to devour it unmolested. In such conflicts they bite viciously, tear each other with their hooks, and scream incessantly, till, taking to flight, the persecuted one reaches some place of safety, when he hangs by one foot, and grasping the fruit he has secured in the claws and opposable thumb of the other, he hastily reduces it to lumps, with which he stuffs his cheek-pouches till they become distended like those of a Monkey. Thus suspended in safety, he commences to chew and suck the pieces, rejecting the refuse with his tongue.” Sir James Emerson Tennent adds that the Flying Fox drinks by lapping, to do which it suspends itself head downwards from a branch above the water.
The flight of the Pteropidæ is strong and direct, although not very rapid, and they often travel considerable distances in search of favourite articles of food. During flight the hind legs are usually stretched out horizontally, and as the space between them is not, as in most other Bats, filled up by an interfemoral membrane, the animals appear as if they had two stiff tails. Their skin exhales a peculiar odour, which has been sometimes described as “musky,” although the term is hardly applicable to it. This odour, which is supposed to be due to the contamination of the fur with the urine of the animals, strongly pervades their dwelling-places, and unless great care is taken in skinning them their flesh is said to acquire a corresponding taste, which is a matter of some importance, as the larger species constitute a favourite article of food in the countries which they inhabit.
That the ancients were acquainted with some species of these Bats seems pretty certain, as one of them (Cynonycteris ægyptiacus) is common in Egypt, and, in fact, is frequently represented on the monuments of that country (see the [engraving on the next page]), and Aristotle refers to a tail-less African Bat, which was probably a Flying Fox. The town of Borsippa, in Mesopotamia, is mentioned by Strabo as being haunted by Bats of larger size than any of those known in Europe; and, indeed, that it was so haunted, and that the inhabitants ate these Bats, is nearly all that is definitely known of the town. The species was in all probability either the Egyptian one just referred to, or a nearly allied form (Cynonycteris amplexicaudata), which is known still to inhabit Persia. The Mosaic prohibition of the Bat as an article of food to the Jews also no doubt related to one of these species, which may have been commonly eaten in Egypt or in Syria.
Formerly it was considered a matter of considerable difficulty to keep these Frugivorous Bats alive in captivity, and especially to transport them to Europe; but the latter difficulty has disappeared with increased facilities of locomotion, and several species have been exhibited alive in various menageries and zoological gardens.
REPRESENTATION OF A FRUIT BAT ON AN EGYPTIAN MONUMENT.
The Zoological Society’s beautiful Gardens in Regent’s Park, London, generally contain several examples of the Collared Fruit Bat of South Africa (Cynonycteris collaris). It may be noted that these animals thrive remarkably well in their rather confined cages in the Monkey House, where, unfortunately, they have no opportunity of displaying their activity on the wing; but the visitor may see their usual attitude in repose, suspended by their hind feet, and with their wings wrapped round them like a cloak, whilst the fact of their curtain being lifted is always sufficient to disturb some of them, and induce them to turn their sharp little noses and bright eyes in the direction of the intruder, and to utter the little querulous cry which seems to indicate their objection to being disturbed. At night, however, they become more active, crawling briskly about their cage, and quarrelling vigorously among themselves for the choice morsels of their food. They also breed freely in their prison (especially the African species). The young African Fruit Bats born in the Zoological Gardens were covered with short, smooth hair of a nearly uniform pale ash-colour, a little darker towards the tips. Only one was produced at a time, and this clung by its hind claws to the lower part of the body of the mother, with its mouth usually attached to one of the two nipples situated on the breast, as shown in the [figure on the next page]. The young Fruit Bats born in confinement may be brought up, as Mr. Bartlett tells us, to display some fondness for the person who takes care of them and feeds them. They will then, if let loose, crawl about upon him, and even mount upon his shoulder and demonstrate their affection by licking his face after the fashion of a Dog. In the uneducated state, however, they bite viciously.
THE INDIAN FLYING FOX.[146]
Southern Asia and its dependent islands may be regarded as the metropolis of the Fruit Bats. Here the species are most plentiful, and most numerously represented by individuals; it is here also that the largest species occur. One of the best-known is the Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus medius), some account of the habits of which, from the pen of Sir James Tennent, has already been given; and this species inhabits the whole of Hindostan, with the exception of the Punjab, Ceylon, Arracan, Tenasserim, and Pegu. It has been described by most writers under the name of P. Edwardsii, having been erroneously identified with a species inhabiting Madagascar and South-Eastern Africa. It measures about eleven inches in length,[147] and more than three feet in expanse of wing. As in all species of the typical genus Pteropus, of which it is the sole representative in the Indian peninsula, the tail in P. medius is entirely deficient, the tongue is of moderate size, and the molar teeth well developed—five on each side in the upper, and six in the lower jaw; the nostrils project, and are separated by a deep notch; the wing-membranes spring from the sides of the back, and are attached to the back of the first joint of the second toe; and the head and nape of the neck are covered with fur of a different colour from that of the rest of the upper part of the body. The latter is blackish or dark brown, with scattered greyish hairs. The nape of the neck and shoulders, the chest, and upper part of the abdomen are variable in colour from reddish-yellow or straw-colour to dingy rusty brown, the fur of the under surface being darker than that of the nape, and all the light tints darker in the females than in the males. The latter have usually a tuft of stiff hairs, of a light reddish-yellow colour, on each side of the neck. The ears, which are nearly naked, are acutely pointed, with the outer border concave just below the tip; the wing-membrane is dark brown, hairy beneath towards the body.