Bat Tree Safari!!!

I think bats  (වවුලා  waula) are fascinating!  And I know they're our friends.  So when we heard there was a bat tree in Chilaw, I wanted to see it.  The search turned into a fun tuktuk bat tree safari!!!


The original bat tree was close to a train station, and easy to find. But it got cut down. Happily, our tuktuk driver was determined.  In the next hour of searching, he asked over 10 people for directions/information.  At last!  We found it!  Them!  On a tiny bumpy road. Four bat trees!!!

It was getting close to sunset.  The bats were still resting upside down on the top branches.  But slowly waking up.  Hundreds of them!  As the sun set, some flew small "wake up" loops.  Then off they went!

Pictures
1- The landscape was really pretty on our bat tree safari.  This is one of the rice paddies we went past.
2- Throughout Sri Lanka there are water reservoirs called tanks.  They look like lakes, but are man made.Google says that ...
King Parakrama Bahu the Great, 1153–1186 AD said "Let not even a drop of rain water go to the sea without benefiting man".  He built/restored 165 dams, 3910 canals, 163 major tanks and 2376 minor tanks, all in a reign of 33 years.  The tanks are still used for irrigation by farmers in Sri Lanka.
3- The tanks have sluice gates/canals to control the water.  These locals were enjoying a swim in one of the canals near a tank.  It looked so refreshing!
4- Our bat tree road!  And our kind determined tuktuk driver.
5- One of the bat trees!!  Look carefully.  You can see some bats hanging upside down.  Still resting.
5a - Google had this great picture of a flying fox fruit bat!  They eat the seeds, pulp, juice, and nectar of a wide variety of fruits, flowers, and leaves. There are 3 other types of fruit bats in Sri Lanka. But this one is the largest with a wingspan of about 120 cm.
6-7 The bats taking off!   I don't have any close up pictures.  But this is still pretty cool!

Additional bat info from Google...
Fruit bats are very important.  They  plays an important ecological role.  They are responsible for the pollination of avocados, breadfruit, cashews, cloves, dates, figs, mangos, and peaches.They also disperse the seeds of more than 100 human food plant species and, in certain ecosystems, account for up to 95% of forest re-growth in cleared land.”

The other 2 types of bats in Sri Lanka are insectivorous bats and carnivorous bats.
The insectivorous bats eat mosquitoes, beetles, termites, and grasshoppers.They eat about one third of their body weight each night. There are two types of carnivorous bats in Sri Lanka. They eat small vertebrates such as frogs, birds, mice, and even smaller bats.