Alex Trelinski
SIX flying fox pups have been born and are doing well at Benidorm’s Terra Natura Zoo.
At birth they weighed in at around 50 grams each and were around eight centimetres long.
The youngsters are being given a special feed of vitamins.
They are expected to begin to fly when they reach three months.
The link between mother and children is very strong with the parent flying between trees at Terra Natura with the offspring on her back.
Each of the pups will be micro-chipped when they are a month old and their state of health will be checked.
The park now has 49 flying foxes who belong to the bat family.
Their name came about because their faces resemble a small fox.
Unlike other bats, the flying fox feeds solely on fruit and nectar, and they have perfect visibility.
The world’s flying fox population has fallen considerably in recent years due to direct hunting, deforestation and the degradation caused by oil palm crop farming.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature says species numbers have declined by 30% in the last 15 years.
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