Orange Leaf-nosed Bat

Family: Hipposideridae
Scientific name: Rhinonicteris aurantius

Where they roost:
They prefer warm humid caves, although some have been found in hollow tree trunks and roost together in colonies that can be as small as 20 or as large as a few thousand bats.

What they eat:
Mainly moths but also beetles, weevils, bugs, wasps and ants. They often feed close to their roost site, returning to the roost several times during the night's feeding.

Conservation threats:
Vulnerable to disturbance from human visitors to cave roosts, destruction of caves by mining, and loss of feeding habitat by clearing and land degradation from agriculture.

Other information:
Orange leaf-nosed bats are very sensitive to people disturbing them in their roosts. They will often not return to a roost if it is disturbed more than a few times.

Photo © GB Baker/Nature Focus