The Biggest Bat in the World - Australian Flying Fox - Fruit Bats
Filmed on the Gold Coast, Australia on the 23rd July 2024. This video was filmed in 4K using a Sony RX10 IV camera (hand held ie. no tripod was used).
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE FLYING-FOX
BATTING ABOVE AVERAGE
Flying-foxes are hard-working little Aussies. They are FIFO workers on the night shift - flying out from their camps at dusk to feed on flowering or fruiting plants and trees. And then they do the incredibly important job of spreading pollen and seeds - up to 60,000 seeds each along a 50km stretch of land every night! When their crucial work is done, they head back to camp before dawn to sleep through the day, ready for their next shift. Their contribution to the health of our native forests cannot be overstated.
SPECIES
There are only four species of flying-fox in Australia, (three of which are often seen flying and roosting in the Hunter & Central Coast Region). Flying-foxes are nomadic mammals that travel up and down the east coast of Australia, primarily along the eastern coastal plain. Grey-headed Flying-foxes are found from Ingham (110km north of Townsville in Queensland), through New South Wales and south to Victoria (and are now even found in South Australia). Spectacled Flying-foxes are typically found north of Ingham in Queensland. Both Black Flying-foxes and Little-Red Flying-foxes are both found in Ingham - the only town in Australia you can do this.
FAMILY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Flying-foxes are intelligent, social animals that live in large colonies comprised of individuals and family groups. They roost in trees during the day and establish permanent and semi-permanent camps near food sources and for birthing.
They use various calls as a form of communication, tending to make the most noise at dawn and dusk, when flying out to feed at night or returning to camp trees to sleep during the day. They can get pretty noisy when they are disturbed, but during the day, flying-foxes are generally quiet as they are nocturnal animals.
VITAL ROLE IN OUR ECOSYSTEM
Flying-foxes are the largest flying mammal in Australia. They are critical in ensuring the survival of our great Australian Eucalypt forests and the overall health of our ecosystem. They are keystone pollinators of the Australian bush, pollinating flowers of over 50 native trees. The pollen sticks to their fur while they’re feeding on the nectar of flowers, and then as they fly off, they are able to pollinate many trees over long distances.
Flying-foxes create new forests by dispersing seeds from the fruit they eat. They are vegetarians that forage on the fruit of over 50 native rainforest trees and vines. Their excellent vision and keen sense of smell helps them navigate their way over vast landscapes. Each flying-fox can spread up to 60,000 seeds across a 50 kilometre stretch of land in one night.
NOTE: Flying-foxes feed on more than 100 species of native plants; approximately evenly divided between nectar/pollen of flowering trees (eucalyptus, melaleucas, banksias) and fruits of rainforest trees and vines.
LEAN CLEAN FLYING MACHINES
Contrary to what you may have heard, flying-foxes are very clean animals that are constantly grooming and cleaning themselves. However, they also communicate by scent. Odours are used to identify camp trees, each other, and also to attract mates. Mothers are able to locate their pups in crèche trees by their scent and calls.
BATTLING FOR SURVIVAL
Flying-fox numbers have decreased dramatically over the last 50 years due to a continual loss of habitat and changing climatic patterns. Grey-headed flying-foxes are now listed as vulnerable to extinction. Urban encroachment, land clearing, agriculture and drought have led to flying-foxes seeking alternative habitat such as patches of bushland in urban areas in which to roost and forage. This has brought them increasingly into conflict with their human neighbours. So now, more than ever, we need to find ways to co-exist with this incredibly important native species.
And it is not just their survival that is at stake. The 2009 Federal Draft Species Recovery Plan for the Grey-headed Flying-fox identified that protection of the species would benefit 6 threat-listed plant species and populations, 57 threat-listed vegetation communities, 26 threat-listed birds and 19 threat-listed mammals.
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