Some cave roosting bats

Most of people use to think bats only live in caves. That's only true for some specific bat species that the expert call Cave Roosting bats or Cave dwelling bats . In Viet Nam, there are many caves (actually, we got the biggest cave on earth  until now http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090724-biggest-cave-vietnam/). That mean the cave dwelling bats species is very very very diversity in Viet Nam. Sometime, diversity mean easy to photograph. But, if you have ever go to some cave, you will know take a good photograph in a pit black cave is a challenge, even for a professional photographers. And, unfortunately, I'm not a pro photographer with a lot of gears. All  pics that I've taken and show you in this post come from my old Fujifilm Finepix HS10, by the hand of the amateur-ME. So, please don't expect the PRO pics. Just enjoy and share you experiences and knowledge about bats with me.

                                          The Black bearded tomb bat (Taphozous melanopogon)
This bat specie is quite common in Viet Nam. But, in the recent year, I found they become rare in some coastal provinces of Viet Nam (This is just my unofficial field record). This pic above is the male hanging up side down in a limestone cave in Kien Giang Province. In this cave, you can find about hundred of them roost together. They eat insect and may play an important role in ecosystem balance.





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                                          The Great roundleaf bat (Hipposideros armiger)
A common bat species in Viet Nam. Until today, I have find this species in Ta Kou Nature reserve (Binh Thuan), Kien Giang province, Ho Chi Minh city, Dong Nai province... Many other scientists have also recorded this species in other place of Viet Nam. This bat is the biggest one in the Hipposideridae family (300g body mass, Forearm length about 54mm)  . In Viet Nam, there is another bat species very familiar with this Great roundleaf bat. It's Intermediate Roundleaf Bat. They both share the same size and the appearance, but the Great Roundleaf bat has 4 supplementary leaf  (as you can see in the pic above), while the other species got only  3. 

                                Some Female Hipposideros armiger nursing her baby while hanging up side down.
                                               Picture taken at Ta Kou Nature reserve
With their big body mass, these guy have to eat a lot. Luckily, their main food is insect, and even through there is no official study about their role in ecosystem, I believe this bats species is the main insect control factor in many places in Viet Nam
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These 2 pics have been taken when I lay my first step in one no name cave in Ta Kou Nature Reserve. This is the big fruit bat species call Cave nectar bat (Eonycteris splaea). This bat is very interesting, because among other cave dwelling bat, this species is one of biggest (they about the same size as a big mole with wing span about 40cm). But, their size can understandable because in taxonomy, these bats belong to the sub order Megachiroptera (as Big Bat). These bat only feed on fruit of tropical forest. You can see the face of one male guy in the picture below.

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(to be continued)

First post

Viet Nam is a small country with great biodiversity value,especially in mammals. Until today, more than 500 mammals species have been recorded  in Viet Nam. Among this diversity, most people will be impressed  by very beautiful, endemic mammals such as Tonkin sub-nosed monkey, Grey shanked Douc langur, Ha Tinh langur... But,  very few people (except few experts in taxonomy and conservation biology) know much about the  Bats, about their diversity, their behavior and their important role in ecosystem in Viet Nam.

There are so many reason  for other people to dislike bat. But to me, bat is something extraordinary. I enjoy study about them since I was a student in  HCM University of Science. The more I learn about them, the more I get interested in their diversity, their flying ability and their adaption to environment. Year gone by, after graduated, I working at Center for Biodiversity and Development, Viet Nam. Working in such a scientific institute like that give me more chance to study and taking picture of Vietnamese bats. And, I really happy if I can share some with other people.

So, I think I would pop up some blog, just to putting some "boring" information and scary pics of the Vietnamese Chiroptera fauna.

Vu Long