Almost Human-Sized Bat Image Circulating in Twitter is Real Though They’re Harmless


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Imagine walking into a huge bat dangling from your roof, looking for all the world like a shapeshifting Dracula resting on its perch…

Creepy? Sounds like a total nightmare? Well, here’s something for you to digest;

What sounds like a horror movie to you is actually a regular occurrence over in the Philippines.

Yes folks, lest you’ve yet to latch on…

Almost human-sized bats are a real thing.

Though unlike what classic lore likes to preach…

They aren’t as bloodthirsty as the average Singaporean Van Helsing would think.

Almost Human-Sized Bat Image Circulating in Twitter is Real Though They’re Harmless

On 24 June, Twitter user AlexJoestar622 posted a picture of a humongous bat dangling from the under-roof of a house, alongside the following caption:

“Remember when I told y’all about the Philippines having human-sized bats? Yeah, this was what I was talking about.”

And though one would immediately speculate the image to be the result of Photoshop, it seems that reality is, at times, more aligned with the virtual world than we previously thought.

“I can confirm this,” replied @louistenantIV of the Philippines in a Twitter reply about the photo.

But some notions, however, seem to have been exaggerated.

“They have a huuuuuge wingspan but the bodies are not really that big, more or less like the same body as a medium (or a bit smaller) sized dog,” @louistenantIV continued. “And, yeah, they only eat fruits, guavas most particularly. They’re really gentle too.”

Well, thank goodness for fruits and guavas. As long as Dracula’s tale does not come true, I’ll even (willingly) give up Korean BBQ just to appease them.

As it turns out, the scary creature in the picture is a giant golden-crowned flying fox (otherwise known as a golden-capped fruit bat), a species of megabat that’s exclusive to the Philippines.


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Apparently, it is one of the largest bat species in the world, weighing up to a hefty 3.1 pounds and with a wingspan that can extend to 5.6 feet.

Image: Beauty Of Planet
Image: Reddit ( exoduscv)

Endangered Species

According to Batworldsthe megabat can travel up to 40 kilometres every night to find fruits.

And while one might shudder to see almost human-sized bat travel at such frightening speed in the middle of the night, it should be noted that the movement is deemed beneficial to the growth of wild fruit trees, as well as pollination.

However, the Golden-crowned Flying Fox has been on the receiving end of mankind’s tyranny, what with the majority of the species being heavily hunted by poachers and their habitats being destroyed by humans.

As such, the megabat has been classified as an endangered species.


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Sure, the megabat might look frightening af. Sure, you probably wouldn’t exactly want to see a megabat nestling from the roof of your house. 

But beneath that Dracula-like exterior lies an avid devotion to fruits and nature, and a seemingly gentle personality.

If there’s one thing for sure;

It’s that they do not deserve to be wiped out by the likes of humanity.

And so with that in mind, maybe it’s time to educate the world about this maligned species. Just as the saying ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ goes…

Maybe it’s time we stop fearing entities because of their outward appearance and start looking within instead.


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Lest you’ve forgotten, polling day will be on this Friday (10 July). So what happens if you didn’t vote? Would you be jailed? Would you be barred from buying bubble tea for the next five years? Watch this video and you’ll know the consequences: