A photo of a huge bat hit the Internet again leaving many people online stunned and perplexed.
The photo depicts a human-sized bat hanging from a wire outside a house, while in the middle of his daily snooze.
Although it went viral on Reddit a couple of years ago, the photo resurfaced and captivated the Internet again when X (formerly Twitter) user ‘@AlexJoestar622‘ shared it on his platform.
“Remember when I told y’all about the Philippines having human-sized bats? Yeah, this was what I was talking about,” said the X user in the photo description.
Once again, this photo baffled many X users, who apart from being terrified, couldn’t tell if it was real or not.
User ‘@MichaelSalfino’ commented:
“This has got to be a trick of perspective, right. RIGHT?!!!!?”
And user ‘@RonaldToroM’ added:
“Good try to fake. If the pic’s animal is real, that tiny cable where it holds would broken because of his weight.”
Despite skepticism about the photo’s authenticity, it has indeed been confirmed as real.
According to Snopes, a fact-checking website previously known as Urban Legends Reference Pages, this is a genuine photograph of what seems to be a large megabat called the Golden-Crowned Flying Fox.
However, since the giant bat in the photo lacks the distinctive golden fur on its head, it might actually be another species of megabat, known as the Large Flying Fox.
Regardless of the possible confusion, the viral photo is authentic, depicting a real animal endemic to the Philippine islands.
Here’s a YouTube video of one of these bats in action proving just how majestic this species really is:
The uproar over the photo’s authenticity stems from the use of the term ‘human-sized.’
Bat Conservation International confirms that the Giant Golden-Crowned Flying Fox is indeed the world’s largest bat, with a wingspan exceeding 5 feet and a weight of about 3 pounds.
Clearly, these dimensions are not comparable to average human size. Thus, the real issue with this photo lies in the misleading description.
User ‘@AlexJoestar622’ addressed this issue in the comment section of his X post, saying:
“I apologize for using “human-sized.” It was how it was referred to me for a very long time and I believed it.”
User ‘@jlouienbehold’ quickly responded to the viral X post, clarifying the true size of the giant golden-crowned flying fox. In his comment, he wrote:
“Heya, from the Philippines here. I can confirm this, they have a huuuuuge wingspan but the bodies are not really that big, more or less like the same body as a medium (bit smaller) sized dog.”
He also added that these majestic creatures primarily eat fruit, especially guavas, and are generally very gentle.
While I’m skeptical about their gentleness, I’ll take his word for it – since visiting them is definitely not on my agenda, haha!
According to the Daily Mail, trick photography was used to make the bat appear larger than it actually is.
This is a classic example of forced perspective photography, a technique that manipulates depth perception and challenges the viewer’s sense of size, position, scale, and proportion.
Photographers often use this tactic to make objects appear larger, smaller, closer, or farther away than they truly are.
Regardless of the trickery, I’m still amazed that bats this size even exist. I’m not sure I’d ever want to see one in person.
What about you? Have you come across this viral photo before, or perhaps seen a giant golden-crowned flying fox in real life?