Terrible on the face, kind on the inside: hammerhead fruit bats (15 photos)

Scary winged beasts that love juice and chickens





There is a huge variety of different animals in nature and they are all equally interesting. But there are also ones that are downright frightening in their appearance or abilities.



The hammerhead fruit bat is one of the first.





This giant ugly bat (which, by the way, is not a bat, but belongs to the family Pteropodidae) lives in Africa and is the largest among its fellows.



The wingspan of this creature is almost a meter, and it weighs up to 450 grams.



Often, due to the shape of the muzzle, the fruit bat is compared to the devil in the open spaces of the net.



Huge saggy lips, bald, cleft chin - all those things that make this animal extremely unpleasant to the human eye.



This species also has ears rounded at the base and a short tail. They also have long and prehensile toes.



At the same time, the females are very different in appearance and much prettier.



The color of the animal is also interesting: its fur is brown with a white collar. The muzzle and membranes received a dark brown tint.



However, fruit bats can change color depending on the air temperature.



Hammerhead fruit bats love to show off, attracting a female, they croak and make strange beeps. During the cacophony of sounds, they flap their wings along the way.



The animal is nocturnal and social; during the day, up to 25 sleeping individuals can be found on tree branches, divided into companies of 5 fruit bats.



It is believed that fruit bats eat figs and the juice and pulp of fruits: bananas, mangoes, guava and others. However, in fact, Hypsignathus also like to eat meat, for example, to attack a hen or chicken.



Despite this, hammerhead fruit bats are quite peaceful. People hunt them for meat. Fruit bats are also getting rid of because of their fruit and berry diet, as they destroy crops.



Hammerhead fruit bats are believed to carry the Ebola virus, but there is no confirmation of this information.

Little is also known about the longevity of the animals, but according to scientists, the lifespan of the fruit bat is about 30 years.