NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



the crafty bats sucked the contents of the figs 

 through the muslin. 



Those fruits which do not permit of the pulp or 

 fleshy part being extracted by means of suction, are 

 taken in the mouth and carried to a quiet retreat, 

 which may be within a few yards, or a mile distant. 

 However, unless disturbed, the bat always returns 

 to the same spot, and, hanging from a twig by one of 

 its hind legs, with the aid of the other leg and its 

 thumbs, the fruit is devoured, and the skin, pip or 

 stone dropped to the ground. Sometimes the bat 

 hangs by one of its thumbs, and uses the other one 

 and both hind feet to hold the fruit while it is being 

 eaten. In a short while, sometimes as much as a 

 barrow-load of leavings accumulate. Taking advan- 

 tage of this habit of flying with the stolen fruit to the 

 same twig, I managed to capture quite a number of 

 these bats by spreading linen thread with birdlime 

 and hanging it close to the twig. This limed thread 

 clung tenaciously to the creature's soft fur, and en- 

 tangled the wings so thoroughly that the bat fell to 

 the ground helpless. 



When squabbling with each other in a fruit tree 

 over the choicest fruit, they utter discordant squeaks. 

 It is wonderful to observe how rapidly one of these 

 bats can settle on a twig. Many a time I have sat 

 hidden under a large fruit tree on bright moonlight 

 nights and watched the fruit bats alighting on twigs, 

 and devouring the fruit or carrying it off to some 

 retreat. Flying into the tree, the bat seizes a twig 



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