highly developed sense of smell. The regions of the brain associated with sight and smell are similarly well-developed. Its eyes are large and well-developed, while its ears are considered medium-length. As in all megabats, the choroid of the eye (vascular region between retina and sclera) has tiny projections known as papillae, which is where its photoreceptor cells are located. Behavior and ecology Diet and foraging The Egyptian fruit bat is frugivorous, consuming mostly fruit, though it also consumes leaves. As a nocturnal animal, it is more active in the evening. It leaves its roost at dusk to begin foraging. The Egyptian fruit bat has a flexible diet, consuming any soft, pulpy fruit from nearby fruiting trees. Common fruits eaten by the Egyptian fruit bat are Persian lilacs, loquat, figs, and wild dates. The type of fruit consumed is influenced by overall availability depending on the season and habitat type. Its dietary flexibility includes eating unripe fruits or those damaged by insects or fungi, allowing them to persist in habitats where ripe fruits are not perennially available. The Egyptian fruit bat usually makes multiple, short flights from its roost to various fruiting trees. It prefers to pick fruit and carry it back to the roost or another tree before eating it. A study of Egyptian fruit bats in Cyprus noted that if Egyptian fruit bats are aware of an abundant fruit source somewhere, they will travel distances of about to reach it. It eats large quantities of fruit each evening, equivalent to about 50 to 150 percent of its weight. While eating, it will hold the fruit tightly against its body to prevent theft by other bats. Its intestinal transit time is rapid, with food passing through the small and large intestines in 18–100 minutes. The Egyptian fruit bat serves as a seed disperser of large and small seeds. Seeds are dispersed away from parent trees. Even seeds too large to ingest are dispersed due to its habit of picking fruits in one tree and consuming them in another, where larger seeds are spat out. Egyptian fruit bats are ecologically important as pollinators or seed dispersers for many species of trees and plants. The baobab tree, for instance, relies almost exclusively on fruit bats to pollinate its flowers. Mating, reproduction and life cycle The Egyptian fruit bat has two breeding seasons: the first is from April to August, while the second