Bats

The bats here are large fruit bats, the type people hunted with slingshots for food in the Solomon Islands (I don’t know whether people here do or not). The bats roost by the hundreds in gum trees (eucalyptus) near the river, making a tremendous stink and racket. Their numbers seem to be seriously reduced since the rains started, according to Justin, and they’ve moved down river about a mile or so.

Weird Bat Fact: Apparently sometimes they roost (that is, hang upside down) on power lines. Like birds sitting on wires, they do not complete a circuit, so suffer no electrical damage. However, sometimes when they wake up and stretch their wings, they make contact with another wire and electrocute themselves. When Justin first arrived, he saw the crucified remains of a number of bats on the power lines.