Fruit bats are more active in moonlight as they rely on sight to find their way around, even at night. Moonlight also helps us find them. The best time for fruit bat watching is when the moon is waxing from crescent to full, and is visible in the early part of the night. The old moon rises too late in the night to catch the bat's most active time.
On some islands large numbers of fruit bats are approachable, but this
isn't possible on other islands. Listed below are the best sites that we
know of.
Best:Haterumajima: Here, fruit bats can be seen even in the gardens
of ordinary houses. Whilst roosting, they are approachable enouth to be
observed easily without binoculars.
South
Bonin Island(Minamidaitoujima) Here they have no fear of people and
can be watched near villages.
Hatoma Island is also good for bat watching. In summer, they can be seen
eating Garcinia fruits.
The poisonous snake "Habu"(Trimeresurus flavoviridis)
does not occur on these island, so walkin at night is relatively safe..
Also good:Ishigakijima,Iriomotejima,North
Bonin Island (Kitadaitoujima) ,Taramajima,Kudakajima,Okinawajima(The
latter island is large and the bats are thinly spread.)
Less good: Kutinoerabujima,the Bonin Islands,Nakanoshima,Yonagunijima
Look for fruit trees during the day. Fruit Bats are particularly partial to wild berries and Malabar almonds. They may be feeding on leaves in the winter when fruit is scarce, so watch out for signs of missing leaves at the tops of trees. Droppings, fruit cores and pellets underneath the trees show that bats were feeding here the night before.
Pellet
Leaf eaten by fruit bats (left) Droppings are liquid(right)
