akelataka

Today's Feature is the Hammer-headed Fruit Bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus)
Czech name: Kaloň kladivohlavý

The apearance of this fruit bat is so unique that it deserves much more attention than it receives. When I first saw some photos in a book, my first thoughts were: "...SO CUTE, a mix between a sheep, sajga, and a chihuahua!!" And fortunately, this species has some very beautiful pictures here on DeviantArt, too (although they were hard to find), which pleased me, because with no deviations I would not be able to feature this animal.

The hammer-headed bat belongs to the family Pteropodidae, the fruit bats (or flying foxes, or mega bats). They feed on fruits and are the biggest African bats with the wingspan up to 97 cm. Only the males possess the uniquely shaped face which allows them to produce loud, honking calls. Females are much smaller than males and facialy resemble "common" flying foxes.
The males display in a lek arena in densities of more than 100 individuals, allowing females to choose the "best one". Females give birth to one offspring. Like all other bats, they are long-living (counting tens of years). Their IUCN status is Least Concern (not threatened).

(see Wikipedia for more information)