Habitat
Fruit bats are tropical animals, but some species live in areas with only a limited fruiting season, as in east Africa where the Gambian epauletted fruit bat might feed on figs during the rainy season but in the semi-arid conditions of the rest of the year may have to fly several hundred miles to find a different climate where other trees are still in fruit.
The epauletted fruit bat's geographic range is from southern Zaire and Tanzania to eastern south Africa, and southern Sudan and Ethiopia to Senegal and southern Mali(Wilson). They are typically a lowland species occurring below 500 meters above sea level, however the Ethiopian populations have been found to occur up to 2,000 meters above sea level. It is native to the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Togo (Mickleburgh).
As a fairly adaptable species to many types of environments, they can be found in a variety of habitats ranging from the dry savanna, moist savanna, mosaic, bushland, tropical dry forests, and subtropical dry forests habitats. They have also been reported to inhabit areas of partially degraded forest, mangrove, and swamp forest habitats. This species of bats prefer to live on the edge of forests and they tend to roost in places ranging from thick foliage, accumulated roots along stream banks, below the thatch of open sheds, and large tree hollows (Fenton).
The species also tend to roost in small groups or as individuals. They can also roost low in trees during the day, undisturbed by the presence of people and even within areas that receive considerable light. These bats have been known to have a presence in agricultural areas with orchards of bananas, figs, mangoes, guavas, and other fruits. They have made the move to human areas due to encroachment by humans into their natural habitats (Reeder).
Read more about this topic: Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat
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