Lyroderma lyra
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The greater false vampire bat (Megaderma lyra) is a species of bat in the family Megadermatidae, the false vampire bats. It is native to Asia. It is also known as the Indian false vampire bat or greater false-vampire This species is 6.5–9.5 cm (2.6–3.7 in) in length and weighs 40 to 60 g (1.4 to 2.1 oz). The average forearm length is about 6.5–7.2 cm (2.6–2.8 in). It has large ears and no tail. Its fur is blue-gray in color overall and brownish gray on the underside. It has an erect noseleaf about 10 millimeters long.
This bat is widespread throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia. It occurs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. This species is highly carnivorous; its diet includes other bats, small birds, reptiles, fish, and large insects. It is a gleaning bat, one which captures prey from the ground and from water surfaces. It takes advantage of many habitat types. Adults hunt from dusk to dawn, commuting up to 4 kilometers.
L. lyra uses a combination of hunting strategies. About 85% of prey is captured during short searching flights in which it... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater False Vampire sighting in Cat Tien National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 24th most-seen of the 28 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Greater False Vampire in Cat Tien National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–May, July and September–November, the lowest months. That is one of Cat Tien National Park's wettest months, with about 470 mm of rain against 15 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Greater False Vampire sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Cat Tien National Park, in our data
Cat Tien National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Greater False Vampire sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Chiroptera
The closest relatives of the Greater False Vampire that you can see in Cat Tien National Park (order Chiroptera, Bats) are Grand Leaf-nosed Bat (about 30%), Woolly Horseshoe Bat (about 20%) and Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater False Vampire is recorded against all the mammals logged in Cat Tien National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
