Damage of the Egyptian Fruit Bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) at El-Dakhla Oasis, New-Valley Governorate, Egypt

Abstract

Background: The Egyption fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus, is considered a harmful pest that attacks agricultural crops, especially ripe fruits, causing economic losses. It is widespread in African sahara desert, Egypt, Pakistan and Northern India. This pest causes damage to many vegetables and fruits. The measuring of damage percentage will aid in the protection of these crops from bats attacking. Methods: The losses caused by Egyptian bats were estimated during two years (2019 and 2020) in many fruit orchards (date palm, citrus, apricot and mango) in reclaimed lands at Butt village, Dakhla Oasis, New-valley Governorate, to achieve integrated management of bat populations. Result: Only one species the Egyptian fruit bat, R. aegyptiacus, has been recorded with 167 individuals attacking fruit orchards. The highest average losses (11.1%) were found in date palms, from August to Oct., while the lowest (4.7%) were found in Apricot, during June and July. The second-highest losses were 7.6% in mango from June to August. The damage began from December to March in citrus with an average loss percent of 7.0%. Therefore, bat dens must be monitored and dealt with to limit their populations and reduce their losses to these value crops in El-Dakhla Oasis.