RODRIGUES FRUIT BATS - Going batty over bats

Nancy Thompson writes a KidSpace article for the Christian Science Monitor site all about her visit to Oregon Zoo, Portland to see their Bat exhibit.

As I walked up to part of the Africa exhibit at the Oregon Zoo, in Portland, a pair of big brown eyes gazed curiously into mine. They were looking at me upside down; the sleek-furred creature with a foxlike face was hanging by its back feet. It was one of the world's most abundant mammals: bats.

The exhibit contained numerous tree branches, and green mesh spanned its ceiling. Three species of fruit bats hung from the branches and the mesh: a straw-colored bat, an Egyptian bat, and an endangered Rodrigues bat.

Read the full article at the Christian Science Monitor.

And here's the Oregon Zoo Africa Rainforest Exhibit page, including the Rodrigues Flying Fox. The page includes a video of "Adorable Baby Bats", available for download in QuickTime or Windows Media formats.

Completed in 1991, bats and a variety of tropical birds and waterfowl live in this tangle of lush vegetation.

In the Bamba du Jon Swamp building, visitors experience tropical thunder, lightening and a torrential downpour that passes over endangered slender-snouted crocodiles, lung fish and frogs.

In the Kongo Ranger Station, kids and adults get a hands-on educational experience and learn about the people of the rain forest, as well as the threats that animals face.