A recent photograph of what appears to be a ‘human-sized’ bat hanging outside a home has stirred up both fascination and fear.
Captured in the Philippines, the image has gone viral, leaving many in awe and others feeling uneasy. However, this seemingly horrifying sight is not what it appears to be.
Viral ‘human-sized’ bat photo
The photo, shared on Twitter by user @AlexJoestar622, initially sparked alarm.
The caption read: “Remember when I told y’all about the Philippines having human-sized bats? Yeah, this was what I was talking about.”
The image showed a giant golden-crowned flying fox, a large fruit-eating bat native to the Asian archipelago.
A bat was seen hanging upside down with ‘human-sized’ , leaving viewers stunned.
The ‘human-sized’ bat photo quickly went viral and sparked discussion.
The post quickly went viral on social media, with many users reacting with a mix of shock and curiosity.
In the comments, many viewers express their shock at the size of the bat.
Some question the authenticity of the photo, wondering if it has been altered.
Others even say they would faint if they encountered such a creature in real life
One person said: It didn’t scare the person taking the picture, can’t be too bad.
A second wrote: That is a ten year old image of a fruit bat and it wasn’t scaring anyone. Leave them alone.
While a third commented: A bat the size of a dog is really a huge bat. A wing span of almost 6ft. Hopefully, these bats stay away from me when walking outdoors.
Someone else said: I ain’t forget when y’all dragged this human-sized bat. the cutie pie was just sleeping. it did nun to y’all.
The truth behind the ‘human-sized’ bat photo
Despite the initial shock, some users from the Philippines clarified the bat’s actual size.
One comment noted: “Heya, from the Philippines here. I can confirm this, they have a huge wingspan but the bodies are not really that big, more or less like the same body size as a medium-sized dog, a bit smaller. And yeah, they only eat fruits, guavas in particular. They’re really gentle too.”
A bat is not actually ‘human-sized,’ as many believe.
The giant golden-crowned flying fox, although notable for its large wingspan, is not truly ‘human-sized’ in terms of height.
These bats can have a wingspan of up to 5 feet 5 inches, which is slightly larger than the average height of a woman in the UK.
However, their body length is only about a foot.
The photograph uses forced perspective, a technique commonly employed in optical illusions. This technique is similar to images where people appear to ‘hold up’ famous landmarks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
This method creates the illusion of the bat being much larger than its actual size.
While the giant golden-crowned flying fox is impressive in its own right, it is not as large as it may seem from the viral photograph.
The clever use of forced perspective has created a striking illusion, leading many to believe that these bats are of human size.
