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Fauna

The sole endemic mammal is the striking Mauritius fruit bat (Preropus rubricollus), which is still found in fair numbers. Like its endangered cousin, the Rodrigues fruit bat (P. rodericensis), the much darker Mauritius fruit bat roosts in large trees by day and forages for fruit and flowers at night. These fruit bats belong to a predominantly Asian genus also present in Madagascar and the Comoros, where they reach their westernmost limit. They're endearing creatures, with fox-like faces (hence the popular name of 'flying fox'), large eyes and striking fur on their heads and mantles.

Thanks to the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust's intervention during a single incident of 'bat bashing', local youths no longer molest the animals as much as they used to. Here's why: traditionally, whenever a cyclone struck. Youths would knock disorientated fruit bats out of the sky just for fun. Seeing a bat on the ground about to be bludgeoned one day, the Mauritius Programme Director grabbed the animal and ran, chased by the mob. At the breeding aviaries, he locked himself in one of the cages and delivered a lecture on fruit bats. Now children collect the bats after cyclones and bring and them to the aviaries for rehabilitation and release. To see fruit bats, go to Black River Gorges, Savannah or the Grand Port Mountains.

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