Fruit

• Egyptian fruit bats are classified as a frugivorous species, meaning they eat fruit. They will fly long distances, up to 25 miles, through the forest to find ripe fruits. They prefer ripe figs, dates and other fruits that are soft and pulpy. Egyptian fruit bats will suck the juice from tropical fruits they find on their nightly hunts. However, they often must feed on unripe fruit that has been damaged by insects or fungus. Even though these bats are small in size--their body length ranges from 110 to 130 mm and they are known as one of the smallest mega bats--they can consume up to their body weight in fruit each night. This can range from about 2.9 to 6 ounces.
  
  

Flower Nectar

• Egyptian fruit bats also consume flower nectar. Like bees and butterflies, these bats travel to different flowers to get the nectar and carry pollen with them from flower to flower or tree to tree. Egyptian fruit bats are responsible for pollinating many of the fruit trees in the rain forests of Africa. According to the Peace River Refuge and Ranch website (see Resources), bats in general are responsible for pollinating almost 70 percent of all of the world's fruit as they drink the nectar from the flowers.
  
  

Captive Diet

• When Egyptian fruit bats are kept in zoos, they are given several different types of fruits to eat. They are also given fruit juices. Some of the fruits they eat in captivity are bananas, apples, grapes, figs, dates, pears, plums, avocados, berries and oranges. Zookeepers will often chop the fruit for the bats and feed them a fruit bat supplement with the fruit to ensure they are getting proper nutrition in captivity.