Unique pagodas in the West: Home to nearly 50 years of crow bats

For nearly 50 years, every flood season, flocks of bats and crows have flocked to Hung Long Pagoda to take shelter under the shade of ancient trees.

The "fate" between the temple and the bats

Hung Long Pagoda is located next to a small canal in My An 1 Hamlet, My Hoa Hung Commune, Long Xuyen City ( An Giang ). Every flood season, flocks of bats flock back, perching densely on the canopy of the oil trees and star trees in the pagoda grounds, then silently flying away, leaving behind a lot of curiosity for people in the West.

Hung Long Pagoda is located next to a small canal and is surrounded by shady trees.

PHOTO: DUY TAN

Mr. Huynh Van Bay (79 years old), who has been taking care of Hung Long Pagoda for many years, recounts the strange journey of the bats: "Around the early 1980s, dozens of bats suddenly came to the pagoda, perched on the old oil and star trees. Then, for unknown reasons, the number of bats increased day by day. At its peak in the 2000s, the flock of bats reached thousands, covering the pagoda grounds."

According to Mr. Bay, the seventh lunar month is the time when bats start to return to their nests, and leave around October to January. No one knows where they come from or where they fly to.

Bats at Hung Long Pagoda are crow bats, each weighing from 0.8 to 1.2 kg.

PHOTO: DUY TAN

The bats that come to live at Hung Long Pagoda are the flying fox species, each weighing from 0.8 to 1.2 kg. When they spread their wings, they can be up to 1.2 m wide. During the day, they hang quietly on the tops of tall trees. When the sun sets, the bats chirp to each other, then fly off to find food at night, returning to rest at dawn.

The sudden and peaceful appearance of the bats has made many curious people come to the temple to witness it with their own eyes. However, excessive curiosity and the lack of awareness of some people have disrupted their lives. Some people even set traps and used slingshots to shoot them, causing the number of bats to decrease significantly. "Now there are only about 1,000 left, but before the bats flew across the sky, looking like a moving canopy of trees," Mr. Bay regretted.

Thousands of bats perch on the canopy of ancient trees in the grounds of Hung Long Pagoda.

PHOTO: DUY TAN

To protect the bats, the temple has repeatedly called on local people to join hands in preserving them, not hunting them, and not making loud noises. Thanks to that, the bats still live in the temple today.

Many speculations about the origin of the bats

Mr. Phan Chuong Ta (60 years old, living in My An 1 hamlet), who has been coming to Hung Long pagoda for more than 30 years, recalls: "At first, everyone was scared when they saw bats roosting on the treetops. But then they were gentle and didn't bother anyone, so people gradually got used to them. When the flood season came and they didn't see the bats, they felt homesick and missed them."

When bats spread their wings they can be up to 1.2 m wide.

PHOTO: DUY TAN

According to Mr. Ta, the special thing is that although there are many places on My Hoa Hung island with oil trees and star trees, the bats only choose to stay at Hung Long pagoda. Some people guess that they come from Bat pagoda in Soc Trang , a place famous for bats living there for many years. Others think that they come from Cam mountain (Tinh Bien district, An Giang) or all the way to U Minh forest (Ca Mau)... However, the real origin of the bats, as well as their strange migration rules, is still an unanswered question.

Not only a unique natural phenomenon, the bats at Hung Long Pagoda also contribute to creating a distinctive feature for this more than 100-year-old pagoda. In the meditative space of the sacred place, the image of bats quietly hanging on high tree branches is an indispensable part, evoking a sense of harmony between nature and spirituality.

Mr. Bay shares stories about bats that come to stay at Hung Long Pagoda.

PHOTO: DUY TAN

For the past 50 years, the bats have been quietly returning and then quietly leaving in cycles. Although no one can explain this rule, for the local people, the presence of the bats is a symbol of peace, luck and sacredness associated with Hung Long Pagoda.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-ngoi-chua-doc-dao-o-mien-tay-noi-cu-tru-gan-50-nam-cua-doi-qua-185250626095622932.htm