And the skies filled with bats… Oct 29, 2019

And the skies filled with bats…

As if right on cue for Halloween, this is the time of year when millions of straw-colored fruit bats begin to descend on Zambia"s Kasanka National Park. They come in such vast numbers that it"s thought to be one of the largest concentrations of mammals in the world. From the end of October to mid-December, these large fruit-eating bats pack into a small area in the forest to roost. But when the sun begins to set, they start to swarm, darkening the skies as they head out to gorge on fruit in the Mushitu swamp forest. Experts believe their migration starts about 2,000 miles north, in Congo.

© Nick Garbutt/Minden Pictures

palette

Today in History

Oct 29, 2018In search of a ‘great’ pumpkin
Oct 29, 2020Let s get lost
Oct 29, 2021Ravens
Oct 29, 2022Sea Slug Day
Oct 29, 2023Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia
Oct 29, 2024Great horned owl
Oct 29, 2025Ancient til trees in Fanal Forest, Madeira, Portugal

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 30, 2021Even nature needs a backup plan…
Aug 20, 2021Signs of life in the Empty Quarter
Aug 28, 2024Paralympic Games begin in Paris
Oct 9, 2021Birds of a feather
May 1, 2022AAPI Heritage Month & Lei Day
Jan 24, 2020Sunlight sets Iceland s Eyjafjallajökull aglow
Sep 13, 2020Super sandy Sweet 16
Jul 25, 2023Laguna de Torrevieja, Spain
Oct 20, 2022International Sloth Day
May 17, 2022Salt ponds of Maras, Peru
Mar 31, 2019Celebrating a Paris landmark
Dec 8, 2023La Rocque Harbour, Island of Jersey
Apr 19, 2019Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park shines
May 25, 2023Saksun, Faroe Islands, Denmark
Jul 8, 2022Preveli Gorge
Jul 23, 2019A state-of-the-art lookout on the Rock of Gibraltar
Apr 2, 2026Wildflower bloom, Central Valley, California
May 14, 2019Cannes, France, in the spotlight
May 19, 2020Loud waters
Mar 9, 2023Waimea Canyon and Waipoo Falls, Kauai, Hawaii
Apr 29, 2022Arbor Day
Sep 10, 2020Hidden beauty in Thailand
Jan 12, 2023Rumelihisarı in Istanbul, Türkiye
Sep 11, 2025Patriot Day
Jun 25, 2022Brown bears, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Aug 17, 2025International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend
Oct 30, 2022Polar Bear Week
Jul 11, 2020How Quảng Ngãi got its grove back
Jan 6, 2024Apple Tree Day
Apr 29, 2024Fujian Tulou, China