Nile Flying Dog

Nile Flying Dog

We are delighted that Georgios Nikolaou has taken over the sponsorship of the Nile flying fox (Rousettus aegyptiacus).

The Nile flying fox, which is particularly widespread in sub-Saharan Africa and as far south as Turkey, inhabits a variety of different habitats: From rainforests to tree savannahs to drier areas. However, their preferred habitat is areas with dense tree cover, because during the day the flying mammals need a safe place to sleep - e.g. in a tree hollow - while they spend the night mainly searching for and eating food: The fruits of various tree species. At night, they consume an amount of fruit equivalent to 50-150 % (!) of their own body mass.

In the African rainforest, among other places, Nile flying foxes thus play an important role in the ecosystem. Like all fruit bats, they are very effective seed dispersers: they often pluck a fruit from a tree and carry it to another tree far away, where they spit the seed away after consuming the pulp. In this way, they contribute to the regeneration of numerous tree species.