An orphaned boy named Robin found an injured bat which he took care of - and they became best friends.

Robin, 12, found the suffering fruit bat on the forest floor while playing in the woods near his family's home in a village in Camarines Sur, the Philippines.

He nursed the baby mammal back to health and named it “Batman”.

Batman and Robin have become inseparable and will play together even in the daytime. The bat sleeps when its best friend is not around.

Robin gives his pet food and water, but the bat sometimes comes out to hunt at night since they leave it outside their house where it was given a shelter.

The boy is being taken care of by his grandmother after his parents left him when he was still a baby.

He said: “My bat friend can fly so it is better than a pet cat, and it doesn’t hurt me. Even when it flies, it comes back and doesn’t leave me.”

Robin found the bat in August when it was around two-months-old and kept it for four months. However, the two best friends had to say goodbye when local officials found out about the dangerous pet.

Staff from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources took the bat to their facility on November 25 to rehabilitate it, before it could be returned to the wild.

The boy said he is heartbroken but understands that the bat needs to be with his real family.

He said: “I hope they will take care of my best friend. I will him so much, but I understand that he needs to go.”

Ecosystems Management Specialist Efren Tagorda said it is dangerous to have a bat as a pet.

He said: “The bat could have mites, fleas, and rabies so it is prohibited to take as pets.”

Aside from possible health dangers to humans, the fruit bat is categorised as near-threatened by the country’s environment department.

Those who are proven to have unlawfully traded fruit bats can be fined of up to 200,000 pesos.

An orphaned boy named Robin found an injured bat which he took care of - and they became best friends.

Robin, 12, found the injured fruit bat on the forest floor while playing in the woods near his family's home in a village in Camarines Sur, the Philippines.

He nursed the baby mammal back to health and named it “Batman”.

Batman and Robin have become inseparable and will play together even when it was daytime. The bat sleeps when its best friend is not around.

Robin gives his pet food and water, but the bat sometimes comes out to hunt at night since they leave it outside their house where it was given a shelter.

The boy is being taken care of by his grandmother after his parents left him when he was still a baby.

He said: “My bat friend can fly so it is better than a pet cat, and it doesn’t hurt me. Even when it flies, it comes back and doesn’t leave me.”

Robin found the bat in August when it was around two-months-old and kept it for four months. However, the two best friends had to say goodbye when local officials found out about the dangerous pet.

Staff from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources took the bat to their facility on November 25 to rehabilitate it, before it could be returned to the wild.

The boy said he is heartbroken but understands that the bat needs to be with his real family.

He said: “I hope they will take care of my best friend. I will him so much, but I understand that he needs to go.”

Ecosystems Management Specialist Efren Tagorda said it is dangerous to have a bat as a pet.

He said: “The bat could have mites, fleas, and rabies so it is prohibited to take as pets.”

Aside from possible health dangers to humans, the fruit bat is categorised as near-threatened by the country’s environment department.

Those who are proven to have unlawfully traded fruit bats can be fined of up to 200,000 pesos.