Kalong Island — Sunset Flight of the Flying Foxes

Kalong is a small mangrove island deep inside Komodo National Park, named for the Indonesian word kalong — meaning fruit bat. Every evening, as the light fades, thousands of giant flying foxes (Pteropus vampyrus) lift off from the mangrove canopy in waves and fly out across the open sea toward Flores in search of food.

The exodus lasts roughly an hour and looks, from the deck of an anchored boat, like a slow river of wings against a tangerine sunset. It’s one of those wildlife moments that no photograph quite captures — and it’s why most Komodo Trip 2-day and longer liveaboards anchor here on the first night.