Mรผnster,Germany – A rare sight has taken flight in the meranti-Halle at allwetterzooโข Mรผnster: vietnamese flying foxesโ are now soaring freely within the hall,marking a significant addition to โone of Europe’s newest tropicalโ greenhouses. The bats, boastingโ wingspans exceeding 1.2 meters,โ represent a seldom-seen species in zoological collections.
The introduction of these flying foxes underscores the โzoo’s commitment to biodiversity and highlights the โขcrucial role these animals play in their natural ecosystem. Flying foxes are among the largest bat species globally, feeding on fruits, flowers, nectar,โ and pollen. “This makes them crucial for the pollination and dispersal of plant seeds,” explains โAllwetterzoo.
The group recently releasedโข inโ the Meranti-Halle originates from โa breeding programโข at Zoo Leipzig, โขwhich has successfully bred the species annually. โขnearly all flying โfoxes in european collections trace their lineage back to Leipzig’s efforts. Nativeโ to Vietnam, the species is currently listed as near threatened.
visitors to the Meranti-Halle, โคwhich opened in the summer of โข2023, can โคobserve โคthe flyingโค foxes in their new habitat. Zoo officials note the โbats are โคharmless to humans andโ areโ often visible amongst the trees, particularly around the tapir enclosure. The addition of the flying foxes builds on the hall’s growingโค population of free-living species, which already includes several bird species introduced earlier this year.
Theโฃ Meranti-Halle also houses a diverse collection of larger mammals, including tapirs, giant โขanteaters, giant otters, red lemurs, and howler monkeys.