To the bat cave

Garry Feulner, one of the oldest American expatriates in Dubai, is considered a living dictionary on the natural history of the UAE – in particular the geology of the Hajar mountains.

He once gave me a tour in a place near the mountainous village of Khatt in Ras Al Khaimah. We walked for more than two hours to reach a cave which, during the 1990s, had the only known population of fruit bats in the UAE. More bat caves were later discovered.

Unlike insect bats, the UAE’s Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) is a flying mammal with large eyes that are used for echo-location or detecting food and predators. It is half the size of the Giant Fruit Bat, but is similar in most features. UAE fruit bats travel to far off places to get food.