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Unprecedented sighting of over 100 Large Flying Foxes in the skies over Yishun on June 5
The Large Flying Fox, also known as the Malayan Flying Fox, is one of the largest bats in the world.
It has a wingspan of between 1.5m and 1.7m.
While they are native to Singapore and the region, these flying foxes have not been sighting in Singapore in recent times.
Unprecedented sighting of over 100 Large Flying Foxes in the skies over Yishun on June 5
First sighting since 2016.
Zhangxin Zheng|
June 07, 2020, 09:54 PM
The Large Flying Fox, also known as the Malayan Flying Fox, is one of the largest bats in the world.
It has a wingspan of between 1.5m and 1.7m.
While they are native to Singapore and the region, these flying foxes have not been sighting in Singapore in recent times.
The last sighting of this species of flying foxes in Singapore was in 2016.
Photo courtesy of Francis Yap.
Four years later, the species was sighted again on June 5, 2020 which coincidentally also happened to be World Environment Day.
This time, a huge colony has been sighted in the north.
Over 100 flying foxes sighting in Yishun
These huge bats surprised nature lovers as they spread their wings in the skies in the morning of June 5.
According to the Nature Society, the large colony of flying foxes were spotted somewhere over Yishun.
Unprecedented sighting of over 100 Large Flying Foxes in the skies over Yishun on June 5
First sighting since 2016.
Zhangxin Zheng|
June 07, 2020, 09:54 PM
The Large Flying Fox, also known as the Malayan Flying Fox, is one of the largest bats in the world.
It has a wingspan of between 1.5m and 1.7m.
While they are native to Singapore and the region, these flying foxes have not been sighting in Singapore in recent times.
The last sighting of this species of flying foxes in Singapore was in 2016.
Photo courtesy of Francis Yap.
Four years later, the species was sighted again on June 5, 2020 which coincidentally also happened to be World Environment Day.
This time, a huge colony has been sighted in the north.
Over 100 flying foxes sighting in Yishun
These huge bats surprised nature lovers as they spread their wings in the skies in the morning of June 5.
According to the Nature Society, the large colony of flying foxes were spotted somewhere over Yishun.
In response to Mothership's query, the Director of Wildlife Management Research, National Parks Board (NParks), Benjamin Lee said that the last confirmed sighting of the Large Flying Fox was at MacRitchie in May 2016, with six individuals sighted.
According to Singapore Biodiversity Record, there was no roost recorded back then in 2016, and so these flying foxes were likely visitors which came to our forests to forage.
This sighting of more than 100 individuals on June 5 is therefore "unprecedented in Singapore in recent times", Lee said.
Here are more photos of the rare sighting captured by a local primate researcher, Sabrina Jabbar:
Photo courtesy of Sabrina Jabbar.
Photo courtesy of Sabrina Jabbar.
The Large Flying Fox is migratory and that means it has a large home range and moves frequently across international borders, Lee added.
Flying Foxes have been known to travel several hundreds of kilometres between roosting sites, and their home range encompasses southern Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Sumatra).
The Large Flying Fox, also known as the Malayan Flying Fox, is one of the largest bats in the world.
It has a wingspan of between 1.5m and 1.7m.
While they are native to Singapore and the region, these flying foxes have not been sighting in Singapore in recent times.
Unprecedented sighting of over 100 Large Flying Foxes in the skies over Yishun on June 5
First sighting since 2016.
Zhangxin Zheng|
The Large Flying Fox, also known as the Malayan Flying Fox, is one of the largest bats in the world.
It has a wingspan of between 1.5m and 1.7m.
While they are native to Singapore and the region, these flying foxes have not been sighting in Singapore in recent times.
The last sighting of this species of flying foxes in Singapore was in 2016.
Four years later, the species was sighted again on June 5, 2020 which coincidentally also happened to be World Environment Day.
This time, a huge colony has been sighted in the north.
Over 100 flying foxes sighting in Yishun
These huge bats surprised nature lovers as they spread their wings in the skies in the morning of June 5.
According to the Nature Society, the large colony of flying foxes were spotted somewhere over Yishun.
Unprecedented sighting of over 100 Large Flying Foxes in the skies over Yishun on June 5
First sighting since 2016.
Zhangxin Zheng|
The Large Flying Fox, also known as the Malayan Flying Fox, is one of the largest bats in the world.
It has a wingspan of between 1.5m and 1.7m.
While they are native to Singapore and the region, these flying foxes have not been sighting in Singapore in recent times.
The last sighting of this species of flying foxes in Singapore was in 2016.
Four years later, the species was sighted again on June 5, 2020 which coincidentally also happened to be World Environment Day.
This time, a huge colony has been sighted in the north.
Over 100 flying foxes sighting in Yishun
These huge bats surprised nature lovers as they spread their wings in the skies in the morning of June 5.
According to the Nature Society, the large colony of flying foxes were spotted somewhere over Yishun.
In response to Mothership's query, the Director of Wildlife Management Research, National Parks Board (NParks), Benjamin Lee said that the last confirmed sighting of the Large Flying Fox was at MacRitchie in May 2016, with six individuals sighted.
According to Singapore Biodiversity Record, there was no roost recorded back then in 2016, and so these flying foxes were likely visitors which came to our forests to forage.
This sighting of more than 100 individuals on June 5 is therefore "unprecedented in Singapore in recent times", Lee said.
Here are more photos of the rare sighting captured by a local primate researcher, Sabrina Jabbar:
The Large Flying Fox is migratory and that means it has a large home range and moves frequently across international borders, Lee added.
Flying Foxes have been known to travel several hundreds of kilometres between roosting sites, and their home range encompasses southern Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Sumatra).
