BATS 143 



Bats. 



Bats abound among the dense vegetation of the old 

 banana plantations, and may often be seen in the day 

 time hanging from the midrib of a banana leaf. The 

 caves found on Kimmi, Damba and other isles shelter 

 numbers of the smaller species, named " Akawundo " by 

 the natives. I shot a few of these one morning in order 

 to investigate the contents of their stomachs, but although 

 it was only about 9 o'clock, their stomachs were quite 

 empty. The noise reverberating in the cave was so 

 distasteful to the bats that for a long while they did not 

 return ; possibly their instinct warned them that such 

 a noise could only, in the experience of the race, have 

 been caused by rock falls making the cave unsafe. 



I had a curious experience at Jinja one evening in 1910. 

 Hearing an animal scrambling about over the roof of the 

 tent and being unable to drive it away by repeatedly 

 striking the canvas, I went out with a lantern and found to 

 my surprise that it was not a mouse but a bat, whose 

 photograph is reproduced (p. 142). It was a more active 

 walker than others that I have encountered, and seemed 

 quite unwilling to fly. It had possibly been crawling 

 about on the roof after insects that were attracted to the 

 light. 



The much larger frugivorous bats, commonly called 

 " Flying Foxes," and by the natives " Ekinyira," 

 occasionally gathered together in great numbers, possibly 

 for breeding purposes. This was first noticed on Bunyama 

 in January 1912, and, later, on Ngamba in March and 

 April 1914. 



They assemble among dense creepers, and may be heard 

 chattering, and also smelt, before a landing is made. 



When disturbed they made a prodigious noise, scrambling 

 about and squeaking loudly before taking to flight and 

 circling round looking for a new resting place. 



