Created 2005
Updated October 2011
Do not read if of a nervous disposition!
I found a web page on flying fox sex when researching an article on courtship in bats in 2005. I quote verbatim. Sadly the original page is no longer there, but the site is well worth a visit
The image shows a male flying fox encouraging a female to choose him as a mate
“Making love bat-style is not an easy job, especially when you spend most of your life upside down. Both males and females have very sharp teeth, and females may not immediately respond to the overtures of an amorous mate.
“He begins by licking her genitals, which can go on for several hours. When he thinks she wants to mate, he’ll move up behind her. If she isn’t in the mood, she’ll turn around on the branch and face him, making it impossible for him to enter her.
“Flying fox penises are very long – up to one quarter the length of the body – which helps the male stay firmly inside the female, despite their precarious position. The female signals when she is ready by stepping off the branch and grabbing hold of the male by his ankles. He holds on to her neck with his teeth and pins her wings to her sides. After all the preparation, copulation is pretty quick and when they are done, the female flies off to mate with many other males over the next few weeks.”
Ref: http://abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/flying fox/default.htm,
In a scientific paper was published on this behaviour called “Fellatio by Fruit Bats Prolongs Copulation Time”
flying fox mosaic cairns
This research was awarded the 2010 IgNobel Prize for Science
The Ig® Nobel Prizes
The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative — and spur people’s interest in science, medicine, and technology.
“Last, but not least, there are the Ig Nobel awards. These come with little cash, but much cachet, and reward those research projects that ‘first make people laugh, and then make them think'” — Nature