Greater bulldog bat

The greater bulldog bat (Noctilio leporinus), also called the fisherman bat, is a large fishing bat of the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico to northern Argentina and across most Caribbean islands. It is one of the few bats that regularly eats fish. It finds ripples made by fish with echolocation, rakes the water with very large hind feet and long curved claws, and can hold food in prominent cheek pouches. Adults measure roughly 11 to 13 cm in head and body length and weigh about 50 to 90 grams, with males larger than females and coloured bright orange on the back while females are a duller gray. It roosts in hollow trees and caves in colonies that number in the hundreds, and females keep stable groups for years. In the wet season it feeds mostly on insects such as moths and beetles, and in the dry season mainly on fish. It is not in danger overall, though pollution, persecution, changing water levels, cave disturbance and deforestation threaten it. It shares the family Noctilionidae with the lesser bulldog bat.