Fruit Bat-Sousouri

Every country has its own delicacy and in Seychelles the Flying Fox or Fruit Bat is one of ours. It was initially enjoyed by the slaves who had little access to meat. The bats, which were very abundant at that time, were caught by hitting them with stones , as well as by using wooden clubs, slings and catapults. The landowners in the early 1940s, who had by then also developed a taste for the fruit bats, bought air rifles for the purpose of shooting them.

Unfortunately, after the coup d’état in 1977 all rifles had to be handed in to the authorities . Consequently the population of fruit bats soared, to the extent that they were considered as pests simply because they would pick ripe fruits before their rightful owners could harvest them. Other ways to catch them had to be found and the main method to catch them was by using a big net, strategically placed between two fruit trees that are bearing ripe fruits. They would fly into the net and get tangled up. This method is still being used to this day. There are other methods being used but the net is the most humane one.

The fruit bats sleep during the day and only fly out to feed in the early evening and at night. Contrary to other types of bats they are not an echo locating species and have to identify trees with ripe fruits by sight.Their eyes are relatively large and positioned on the front of their heads, giving them a type of binocular vision as well as the ability to see in low-light conditions. They also rely heavily on their refined sense of smell to locate ripe fruits.

The flesh of the flying fox has a very gamy flavour and can be tough and is consequently marinated for quite a long time before cooking. To prepare the animal you have to skin the body and discard the wings and head. There are glands under all the limbs that need to be removed or they will impart a very bitter taste to the dish. A sharp knife is all that is needed to perform this delicate operation! If you have difficulty locating the glands, please get help.

Fruit bats are mainly cooked in a curry or in a civet. Unlike fruit bats in other countries, the fruit bats in Seychelles are free of viruses and are safe to eat and to have as a pet.