Egyptian fruit bat


In the Wild:

Egyptian fruit bats are nocturnal. They spend their days roosting in trees or caves, with large groups of other bats, numbering in the thousands. They emerge from the roost to forage for food late evening & return just before dawn. They hang upside down, with their wings folded closely around their body. Bats use echo-location, which they accomplish by emitting a series of sharp clicks with their tongue. The clicks are normally slow & constant, & speed up when they approach an object.

Conservation Status:

The fruit bat is an important seed dispersers for many plants. The baobab tree exclusively relies on bats to pollinate its flowers. Persecuation due to crop raiding is a threat.

Zoo Location Nocturnal House

VIEW ON OUR MAP

Quick Facts

  • Lifespan: Up to 22 years
  • Distribution: Discovered in Egypt in 1810 roosting in the pyramids of Giza. Now found in the Middle East, Sahara, Africa, Turkey, Cyprus & Pakistan
  • Habitat: Sub-tropical & warm temperate rainforests
  • Gestation: 115 - 120 days

MORE OF OUR ANIMALS

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING...

  • This was the third time that we have had the Shepreth outreach team visit us at school and it was an excellent visit as always.  The team arrived on time and set up quickly.  They had brought with them an excellent range of age appropriate animals and they were extremely knowledgeable and informative.  The session was very ‘hands on’ and the staff were sensitive to the needs of the group that they were working with, tailoring questions to suit.  The children all had a wonderful learning experience and were amazed by the animals, they were very excited by the opportunity to touch some extrelmely unusual species.  It was a wonderful afternoon, enjoyed by all, and we will definitely be booking again next year!

  • The children enjoyed and appreciated all you and your colleagues did – they gave us a lot of helpful and constructive information. Your classroom is looking great – you have created such a lovely inviting place for the children. I filled in a visitors questionnaire today because it was so nice to visit again. Shepreth is a lovely place to be, without trying to sell itself or have that ‘glossy commercial’ look that so many attractions have these days. Its just a very genuine place quietly getting on with lots of good work and, I am sure, creating a very loyal following among all who encounter it – in short, a rare treasure!

  • First Arlesey scout group was very fortunate to have Pete and Lainie from Shepreth Wildlife Park organise an outreach session for the beaver group as part of their animal friend badge. Pete and Lainie’s enthusiasm for nature and child centered approach along with their amazing animals kept a group of 30+, 6-10 years old, engaged for a whole hour. We would be more than delighted to have Pete and Lainie come back and teach our group in the near future and will arrange another trip to Shepreth. I would recommend this type of session to any scout group that wishes to incorporate some wildlife into their programme.

  • I am writing on behalf of all at South Cambridgeshire Branch of Friends of Chernobyl’s Children to thank you for allowing our new group of children to visit Shepreth Wildlife Park yesterday.

    Our chaperones for the day said how helpful your staff were in every way and that they spent a lot of time with the children showing them how to handle the animals and playing interactive games with them.

    We really appreciate the fact that you have supported us every year for the last five years and twice this year, allowing both our summer group and autumn group to visit. In times of financial uncertainty it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to raise funds and so we really appreciate being able to not only come to the park and use all of your facilities, free of charge, but also that you provided lunch for the group, drinks and ice creams.

    The children also loved the gift bags you gave them.

    I visited Belarus in March to help select these children for our new programme and the situations they were all living in were very sad. This really special day and has given the children some lovely memories to take home with them. I know they will be looking forward to their visit next year.

    Once again, thank you all so much for your support.

Loading...