Unbelievable photo of ‘human-sized bat’ isn’t actually fake

When you think of bats you may think of something about the size of a bird, or possibly a fox in some cases.

What you may not think of is a bat which is the size of some people, in terms of height at least.

But one picture of what appears to be a human-sized bat in the Philippines doesn't look like it could be real.

Just look at it, it's enormous! Though in a way, it actually looks a little bit cute if you like bats.

And the species of bat is in fact 100 percent real.

But despite the unsettling appearance, there's no reason to be afraid of this animal.

No tricks or editing have been used to change the picture, but it has been taken from a perspective which makes the bat look around five feet tall.

But it's not really that big.

That doesn't mean it's not still an absolute unit of a bat - or something you'd want hanging in your bedroom.

The picture shows the creature - which, if you're interested, is widely believed to be a giant golden crowned flying fox - hanging upside down in the outbuildings of someone's house.

X/@AlexJoestar622

It was shared on X by user @AlexJoestar622 back in 2019, who said: "Remember when I told y'all about the Philippines having human-sized bats? Yeah, this was what I was talking about."

So, while calling this bat 'human-sized' is something of a reach, it is certainly one of the world's largest bats.

Speaking of reach, this bat does actually have a wing-span that could be thought of as human-sized, because their wings can be up to five-and-a-half feet wide.

However, the actual body of the flying fox, which looks massive, is probably only around one foot tall.

Instead of showing us a secret South East Asian world of the gigantic, this picture is actually just a clever example of forced perspective.

X/@AlexJoestar622

That's where you take a picture in such a way that makes something seem massive, or really small, when it is actually just normal sized and in a slightly different perspective.

It was used heavily in The Lord of the Rings trilogy to make the hobbits seem tiny, when they are actually probably the same size as the actors they're standing close to.

As for the giant golden crowned flying fox, there's a serious issue here, as they're currently classed as an endangered species as a result of deforestation and poaching for food.

What's more, even if it was massive, you'd have nothing to fear from this gentle giant. They are completely herbivorous, eating mostly figs and occasionally chowing down on some leaves.

They are exclusively found in The Philippines, and were initially discovered in three subspecies, but one has since gone extinct.