Fruit bats are also sometimes called 'flying foxes', because their faces look much more like a fox's than a mouse's. They have big eyes, soft cinnamon-coloured fur, and tall ears. During the day, they hang upside down from tall trees - sometimes dozens of them in the same tree - looking like odd pieces of fruit themselves.
When the sun starts to set, the bats wake up and head off to find food. They love mangos, papayas, breadfruit, jackfruit and figs. They have a brilliant sense of smell and can find a single ripe mango from far away. In Seychelles, farmers and fruit bats often want to eat the same mangoes, but most people learn to share.
Fruit bats do not use the 'echolocation' chirping that smaller bats use to find insects in the dark. Their eyes are big enough that they can see well in twilight. They navigate using a mix of sight, smell, and memory - they know every fruit tree on their patch.
On some Seychelles islands, fruit bats are actually eaten as part of a traditional dish. On others, they are just admired. Either way, children grow up knowing them well. A flapping fruit bat above a garden at dusk is one of the everyday sights of a Seychellois evening.