Flying Foxes take flight

... Sri Lankan scientists Map Bat Highways to Stop Future Pandemics

- By Irham NIZAM

In the twilight skies over Colombo, a dark silhouette of giant wings flits between treetops, its shadow briefly blotting out the last streaks of evening light. This is the flying fox, Sri Lanka’s largest bat, revered by some for its ecological role and feared by others for the viruses it may carry. For years, their nocturnal journeys remained a mystery. Now, a groundbreaking Sri Lankan-led research project is shedding light on these winged nomads, revealing both their ecological importance and their potential role in spreading deadly diseases.

In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists at the University of Colombo, in partnership with Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI), have fitted GPS collars on dozens of these massive bats. The results are startling: the flying foxes can soar up to 60 kilometres in a single night and have been tracked flying over 200 kilometres continuously, visiting multiple bat colonies along the way.

“Understanding where these bats go and how far they travel is crucial for predicting how diseases might spread,” said Prof. Inoka C. Perera, who leads the University of Colombo research team. He told The Sunday Island; “These aren’t just academic questions — they have real implications for public health.”

A Potential Threat: Nipah Virus on the Island

The urgency of this study grew when researchers made a chilling discovery: Nipah virus, a pathogen infamous for its devastating outbreaks in India and Bangladesh, has been detected in Sri Lanka’s flying fox colonies. Nipah, which can cause brain inflammation and has a fatality rate of up to 75 percent, has already claimed hundreds of lives in South Asia.

Dr. Sahan Siriwardana, a former PhD student on the project and a bioinformatics expert, analysed genetic samples and confirmed that the Sri Lankan strains bear alarming similarities to those found in Kerala, India.