In Khandepar, bats call mango tree home

PONDA: It’s been a lingering enigma for residents of this serene and picturesque Ponda village. The elderly take it as an ominous sign, but naturalists view it otherwise. For the past four years the village has been witness to one of nature’s rare phenomena. In Gauthan, Khandepar, a ward with just four houses, stands a mango tree, laden not with fruit, but with bats.“It’s unusual to see bats during the day, but here you can see, not one or ten, but hundreds of them in broad daylight,” says an elderly Gauthan resident, who has now become familiar with the squeaking sounds of these nocturnal creatures. “Irrespective of the season, these bats have made the mango tree their daytime abode. As night falls, they vanish into thin air, perhaps, in hot pursuit of their prey,” the elderly woman adds, pointing to a branch of the tree where a bat is trying to tighten its claws on a twig.
“Locally, it is a belief that bats can’t see in daylight. As such they spend the day away from human settlements in caves, deserted buildings, hollowedout tree trunks or under culverts where light does not reach,” local resident Daya Khandeparkar says. “Mango trees are not an ‘oasis’ to villagers’ eyes. The village has innumerable mango trees. What distinguishes this tree from the others is that it is frequented by bats.
Villagers are baffled as to why bats prefer this particular tree,” says Vaghurme resident Gopal Narvekar. “Spending even a few moments beneath this tree isn’t advisable due to the unpleasant odour emanating from bats’ excreta. Many people fear bats as several myths and legends associate them with sorcerers and demons. Owing to these night-loving creatures hanging themselves upside down, people maintain a distance from them,” says sexagenarian Vithal Gaonkar. “Nothing disturbs the bats on this mango tree. It has become a permanent resting place for them—looks like they have adapted to human exposure here. They are perched on every branch.
The only sound that disperses them from the warmth of this tree is the blasts heard from the river bed that flows close by,” adds Narvekar. Fishermen use blasting techniques to fish here. While it’s an opportunity for nature lovers to explore and gain deeper insights into the aspects of this particular tree, for children in the vicinity, the bats have turned into unending entertainment— their shrill squeaking noise has become a part of their life. Any branch sans a bat becomes a debating issue for kids, who try to solve the mystery by observing skeletal remains of bats lying under this tree.