Bat Seen Chomping On Banana At Jurong East Supermarket, FairPrice Discarded Affected Fruits
It’s not surprising to see bats hanging around fruit trees. In particular, fruit bats, as their name suggests, mainly feed on the tropical fruits found in our region. One was caught feasting on a bunch of bananas at a Jurong East FairPrice supermarket.
A video clip of the incident circulated around WhatsApp.
Image from WhatsApp
In response, the supermarket said today (16 Oct) that they have taken action to prevent future occurrences of uninvited grocery ‘shoppers’.
Bat enjoying banana at FairPrice
The bat was caught by a grocery shopper passing through the fruits section at night, and they took a video of the incident, which took place in FairPrice’s 345 Jurong East Street 31 outlet
In the video, the bat could be seen hanging from a banana. It bit through the peel and was feasting on the delicious fruit.
Image taken from WhatsApp
The flying mammal was rather unperturbed by the netizen who was videoing it. Looks like it was too busy finishing its meal.
Image taken from WhatsApp
We wonder why it couldn’t find a fruit tree with less human traffic. After all, it feeds on chiku fruit which are found in Singapore.
FairPrice said they’ve moved fruit stands inside
Apparently, the fruit stands at that particular FairPrice outlet were placed outside the supermarket. This could leave it open to bats to swoop in for a feast.
Image taken from WhatsApp
We reached out to FairPrice regarding the bat and they responded, saying they’ve moved all fruits indoors to prevent future occurrences.
Furthermore, they’ve conducted checks to ensure that all affected fruits were discarded.
Additionally, they are in contact with the authorities to look into the presence of bats in the vicinity.
Fruit bats important for ecology
According to NParks, 25 species of bat can be found in Singapore. Fruit bats help to regenerate our jungles by dispersing seeds and pollinating plants such as durian and petai trees.
Other species of bat also help to control our insect population when they feed on mosquitos, beetles and crickets.
NParks advises Singaporeans to stay calm and leave bats alone as they are shy creatures.
Stay calm and shop on
Thankfully, FairPrice has taken measures to prevent further occurrences of bats feasting on fruits meant to be bought by shoppers.
However, if you do see one flying around, keep calm and leave it alone. After all, they’re relatively harmless if you don’t bother them.
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Featured image adapted from WhatsApp
