Indian flying fox the Indian government classifying bats as vermin in the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, the Indian flying fox is sacred in India. In the Puliangulam village in India, a banyan tree in the middle of local agriculture fields is home to a colony of 500 Indian flying foxes. The bats are protected by the local spirit "Muniyandi", and the villagers make offerings of bananas and rice to the spirit and the bats. Indian flying fox The Indian flying fox ("Pteropus giganteus"), also known as the greater Indian fruit bat, is a species of flying fox found in South Asia. It is
Indian flying fox fox, "P. poliocephalus". As the genus "Pteropus" is divided into closely related species groups, the Indian flying fox is placed in the "vampyrus" species group, which also includes the Bonin, Ryukyu, little golden-mantled, Rodrigues, large, Lyle's, Aldabra, Madagascan, Seychelles, and Mauritian flying foxes. There are currently three recognized subspecies of the Indian flying fox: "P. g. ariel" (G. M. Allen, 1908), "P. g. giganteus" (Brünnich, 1782), and "P. g. leucocephalus" (Hodgson, 1835). The Indian flying fox is found across South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, China (Tibet), Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It roosts in large, established colonies