In situ feeding tactics of short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus sphinx) on mango fruits: evidence of extractive foraging in a flying mammal

Abstract

We report a sequence of behaviors exhibited by the short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx while feeding on fruits of Mangifera indica. They peel off the outer skin to form a feeding area of about 3–6 cm diameter. Such food preparatory behaviors were more pronounced on larger mangoes. Bats competed among themselves to feed on the mangoes that had such feeding areas exposed. Individuals that spent a considerable amount of time on food preparatory behaviors actively secured the fruits. Altogether, these behaviors indicate that Cynopterus bats might have learnt, over evolutionary time, and developed behaviors that facilitate efficient processing and feeding of fruits such as mangoes. It appears that actions exhibited by C. sphinx in peeling off the outer skin of mangoes exemplify “extractive foraging”, a behavior that is prominently known in large-brained mammals. Thus, our findings will have implications on the distribution and evolution of extractive foraging and “technical intelligence” among mammalian lineages.