After locusts, ‘fox-like bats’ swarm Tharparkar
THARPARKAR: After facing locusts attack, the residents of Thar are facing camps of large fruit bats swarming in their district for last six days. The one-foot bats have been described by the locals as having fox-like faces with around four-foot wings.
They eat fruits in gardens and hunt small birds as well. People fear that a large flock of the mammals could migrate to Pakistan, it the government sits idle.
Samaa TV has quoted a resident as saying that the government must take action as they were keeping their kids indoors because they believed that the bats were dangerous.
Also Read: Grasshoppers being served in biryani in Thar
According to a wildlife expert, these bats could not be repelled with the help of sprays used for smaller such species. He warned that the bats carried virus and if they bit someone it might cause rabies.
The expert expressed the hope that the bats will return to their place of origin once the monsoon season was over.
In Nov last year, farmers of Thar district had found solution to the grasshoppers attack on their crops through frying and making biryani from them.
Interestingly, people come from far away to eat the biryani and karahi gosht dishes made from these grasshoppers in Chachro area of the Thar district. Those who introduced these dishes say that the grasshoppers, full of vitamins, tasted like fish and the dishes were sold from Rs200 to Rs300 per plate.
The locusts are first thoroughly washed then dried in sunlight, after that they are fried on low flame.
