Palau: Eating Fruit Bat Soup

Warning: not for the faint-hearted! On Palau, you can try an extremely bizarre and controversial local food delicacy – fruit bats! The Palauan Fruit Bat (Pteropus pelewensis) is cooked whole – with all body parts intact, full fur and intestines – in a ginger broth and served in a large bowl. After you are done taking picture of the bat in front of you, the server will cut it up into pieces. There isn’t that much food, but the meat is very lean and gamey, somewhat reminiscent of rapid or Guinea pig. Because these bats eat only fruit, nectar, and flowers, the meat is sweet and tender. The wing membrane is also edible. The locals savored this delicacy for centuries and the preparation and serving of it is regulated. We actually even saw bats for sale in a local store! And no – these bats have nothing to do with COVID.