Parturition and mother-infant relations in the Indian false vampire bat Megaderma lyra

The onset and duration of parturition were studied in Megaderma lyra for two successive periods during the years 1989 and 1990. The period of parturition fell between January and May in 1989, and between March and May in 1990. This change in the length of parturition period was not due to variations in the pattern of rainfall when prey items are abundant. The young M. lyra clung continuously for 5-7 days from birth to their mothers whose foraging modality seemed unaffected. Grown-up infants were left at a temple roost while the mother bats foraged. On a few occasions, mothers and infants were also seen at different `night roosts' found close to the temple roost. In all stages of nursing, the lactating mothers had two distinct bouts of foraging, one immediately following emergence (at dusk) and the other during their return (at predawn hours) to their main roost. The mean lactation period in M. lyra was approximately 70 days.