16/08/2011 | C. Martin
Safari holidays to Zambia this autumn can be a chance for wildlife lovers to witness one of the biggest mammal migrations in the world.
At the Kasanka National Park in Zambia's northern province, millions of fruit bats begin arriving in October and November to feed and roost in the Mushitu forest.
They stay on in the wooded area close to the Musola and Kasanka rivers for around six weeks, feeding on seasonal wild loquat and waterberries that ripen with the arrival of the first rains.
Bat safaris are organised at dusk when the animals set out on their nocturnal food gathering expeditions.
An estimated ten million bats migrate seasonally to the forest in a unique spectacle that visitors can see up close.
The fruit trees and the arrival of the mammals also attract a variety of other birds and animals to the forest.
Copyright Press Association 2011