It roosts in a variety of different tree species where the bats hang on the outermost branches (MacKinnon et al. 2003, Jenkins et al. 2007a, Long and Racey 2007). Roosts are very rare inside intact forest and are usually found in forest fragments, small islands or mangroves (MacKinnon et al. 2003, Jenkins et al. 2007a, Rakotoarivelo and Randrianandriananina 2007). Occasionally, Eucalyptus plantations are also used (Jenkins et al. 2007a). The majority of roosts are in small areas of relatively degraded vegetation with a few large trees. The roosts are usually adjacent to water bodies (Jenkins et al. 2007a) and it seems that bats use them for navigation and orientation during foraging (Jenkins et al. 2007a, Oleksy 2014). Roosting bats are easily disturbed by people and cattle that venture near the roost and colonies readily take flight (MacKinnon et al. 2003). Once disturbed the bats may move to an alternative roost site in the vicinity and it appears that each colony requires more than one roost site as a response to disturbance but also maybe to shifting patterns of food availability (Jenkins et al. 2007a). This species can survive in heavily modified landscapes through feeding on a mixture of native and introduced plants (Raheriaisena 2005, Jenkins et al. 2007a, Long and Racey 2007) but it shows preferences towards native vegetation (e.g. forest fragments). It travels up to30 km a night between roosting and foraging areas (Long 2002, Oleksy 2014). The average flight speed of commuting flights is over 32 km/h and the highest recorded speed is 61 km/h (Oleksy 2014). In Berenty Reserve, south east Madagascar, home range of over 58,000 ha was recorded for 15 tracked individuals (Oleksy 2014). During the gestation period the females appear to fly significantly longer distances than males, probably to fulfil their increased energy requirements (Oleksy 2014).

The diet consists predominantly of fruit juices which are squeezed from fruit in the mouth. Large numbers of small seeds are accidentally ingested during feeding and are later dispersed at other foraging sites, during flight or at the roost. The average gut transit time of these bats is 12 min, however theyare able to retain the seeds in their gut for over 20h (Oleksy 2014). There is some evidence that seeds that have passed through the digestive tract of P. rufus incur a fitness advantage through increased germination success (Racey et al. 2009). This has been recently confirmed on two species of strangler figs (F. polita and F. grevei) in south east Madagascar. Both species showed significant increase in germination after bat ingestion and had higher survival rate than seedlings originating from unprocessed seeds (Oleksy 2014) Other plants parts are also consumed, including flowers, nectar and leaves. In the south, nectar from introduced plants is an important dietary component throughout the year (Long and Racey 2007). Some plants have evolved to attract nocturnal mammals like bats as pollinators and P. rufus feeds non-destructively on the nectar of two threatened baobab species (Baum 1995, Andriafidison et al. 2006). Because of its ability to travel long distances and its capability as a seed disperser and pollinator P. rufus is widely believed to be a key species in fragmented forest ecosystems (Bollen and Van Elsacker 2002, Bollen et al. 2004).

This species is endemic to Madagascar (Simmons 2005). It is one of the most widespread bat species on the island and appears to only be absent from the highly populated central highlands (MacKinnon et al. 2003). The highest density of roost sites is in coastal regions, especially from Morombe in the south-west to Antsiranana in the north (MacKinnon et al. 2003).

It is listed on CITES Appendix II and is a game species under Malagasy law (Durbin 2007) but neither of these provide any practical in situ conservation measures (Racey et al. 2009). There are a few roosts in protected areas, notably Parc National Kirindy -Mité, Parc National de Masoala, Parc National de Mananara-nord (MacKinnon et al. 2003) and Berenty Private Reserve (Long 2002), but many of the existing parks and reserves appear to be without roosting colonies (e.g. Goodman 1996, 1999; Alonso et al. 2002; Goodman et al. 2005; Schmidand and Alonso 2005). The ongoing process to triple protected areas in Madagascar is providing an unprecedented opportunity to include traditional roosts in the new conservation sites. There is also significant scope for local institutions to conserve roosts and this is already occurring in some parts of Madagascar where the bats use sacred forests (Jenkins et al. 2007b) or where communities have created social contracts to protect the bats (Jenkins et al. 2007a).