Animals in Samoa

Animals living in Samoa are really quite awesome. One important animal living here is the flying fox or fruit bat as some call it. They go sky-high over the Samoan ridgeline. This mega bat is found in Fiji and Samoa. Flying foxes, also know as fruit bats, are one of the more unusual animals in American Samoa, especially for visitors from areas where bats are small and rarely seen. Three species inhabit our islands – two large fruit bats.

Fruit bats are considered the only native mammal in American Samoa thus earning the right to be protected within the National Park of American Samoa. Local folklore casts a dark image on fruit bats, portraying them as sinister and devious creatures with connections to the spirit world. These superstitions undermine their ecological importance to the native tropical rainforest. Fruit bats help transfer pollen from one tree to another.