R. Doug Wicker — Author

Samoan Flying Fox

I’ve seen bigger bats, but not in a long time.  These are the Samoan Flying Foxes with wingspans approaching nearly three feet.  The Samoan Flying Fox is a medium-sized (if you can believe that) member of the megabat family.

But don’t worry — these are fruit bats.

Samoan Flying Fox out on a limb

So how did we come across this colony of megabats?  We asked to see them on our taxi trip back from the western-most U.S. National Park — The National Park of American Samoa.  The Visitor Center for this park is located in Pago Pago.  It’s on the second floor of the MHJ Building, and the Visitor Center alone is well worth a visit.  At any rate we let pass the first couple of taxis when the driver asked for far too much for a round trip excursion, but we eventually found someone willing to drive us there at a reasonable rate.

National Park of American Samoa

National Park of American Samoa

National Park of American Samoa

In addition to the spectacular coastal scenery we also some spectacular flowers.

National Park flower

It was on the way back to port that we talked our driver into taking us by a bat colony.

Samoan Flying Fox

After our visit with the Samoan Flying Foxes we made our way back to the MS Oosterdam through the village of Atu’u.

Returning to Pago Pago by way of Atu’u