The Comoros catcher's mitt in action!

Proving that bat wings are actually evolutionarily extended hands, this lovely Livingstone's flying fox demonstrates nature's version of the ultimate catcher's mitt!

Here, he's catching a piece of banana, thrown by a Durrell keeper. In their native Comoros Islands however, bats that choose to roost in banana plantations are treated as pests, and sadly often come into conflict with farmers. The result is less space for these magnificent mammals to call home, and as such their numbers are beginning to diminish.