Flying Fox Management

Fact Sheet
Flying Fox Facts

By Dr Martin Cohen (Wild About Australia)
Flying Foxes (including Spectacled and

Little Red Flying Foxes):
 Are vegetarians and mainly eat nectar and  Flying Fox numbers have significantly
fruit. decreased during the past 50 years and the
 Are extremely important to maintaining Spectacled Flying Fox is now classified as
biodiversity in Australian forests. ‘Vulnerable’ under the Federal Government’s
Environment Protection and Biodiversity
 Have the ability to cross-pollinate over great Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act).
distances and carry fruit and seeds far away  Lyssavirus in Flying Foxes populations is rare
from parent trees. but when infected the flying fox soon dies from
 Are the main pollinators of many native the disease.
Australian trees as they carry pollen on their fur  It is vital that only people vaccinated against
to other flowers. rabies handle wild flying foxes.
 Are vital to the continued survival of many  People will NOT be exposed to Lyssavirus
rainforest trees as they eat the fruit and spit when Flying‐foxes fly overhead, when they
the seeds out at other places. roost or feed in garden trees, or even from
 Have excellent vision and a sense of smell and touching their droppings. Lyssavirus can only
DO NOT use echolocation like the small, be transmitted through deep tissue bites or
insectivorous microbats. scratches.
 Have very large wingspans up to 1.6 metres.  Bird droppings are actually more corrosive than
flying‐fox faeces. Soaking the stain with a damp
 Are very clean animals and constantly groom rag is the easiest way to remove it. Unless the
their fur and wing membrane. paint is old or peeling, no permanent damage
 Can fly around 40 kilometres per hour and up to should result from a bat leaving its calling card.
 50 kilometres each night.  Better bat education is an essential solution to
 Have average wing beats of 120 per minute. the communities perceived bat problems.
 Have a complex social system and spend
their day in permanent tree‐top communal
camps.
 Have more than 20 different calls for
communication.
 Have old males guarding the boundaries of the
camp keeping a look out for predators such as
eagles and pythons.
 Spectacled Flying Foxes mate in March/April
and give birth to a single young between
October and December.
 Little Red Flying Foxes mate in
November/December and give birth to a single
young in April/May.
Fact Sheet
10 Bat Myths
From www.batrescue.org.au
Myth 1: Flying foxes are dirty animals Myth 6: You can catch Lyssavirus
FACT: Flying‐foxes are exceptionally clean animals and from touching bat droppings
they invert or hang right side up in order to avoid soiling
FACT: People will NOT be exposed to Lyssavirus when
themselves. During hot weather a mother bat may
Flying‐foxes fly overhead, when they roost or
urinate deliberately on her young
feed in garden trees, or even from touching their
to help cool it down.
droppings. Lyssavirus can only be transmitted
through deep tissue bites or scratches.
Myth 2: Bats in Australia suck your blood
FACT: Blood‐sucking, or Vampire Bats, are only found
Myth 7: Bats get tangled in your hair
in Central and South America. These small bats weigh
FACT: Bats are all good navigators and naturally fearful
only 36gms.
of humans so even an accidental collision is most
unlikely.
Myth 3: Bats are pests and serve no
purpose in our environment Myth 8: Bats are cold and clammy to touch
FACT: Flying‐foxes and Blossom Bats play a vital role in FACT: Bats are warm, fuzzy and in fact quite cute! Their
the out‐crossing of pollen and in seed dispersal in our wing membrane is not dissimilar in feel to the skin of
native forests. It is estimated that a single Flying‐fox can our own eyelids.
disperse up to 60,000 seeds in one night. Without bats
our forests may become genetically weak, may not be Myth 9: Bats are the only mammals in the
as diverse in number of species and most likely would
not survive many generations without bats. Microbats world without an anus (!)
are capable of eating their own body weight in insects FACT: Bats are placental mammals with exactly the
each and every night. They are excellent natural same excretory organs as ourselves. Due to their rapid
controllers digestion (approximately 20 minutes) and their inability
of moths and mosquitoes, and without microbats to digest fibre, bats will chew the fruit they eat, extract
insect populations would become enormous. the juice and spit out the remains. The silly myth about
bats excreting from their mouths is simply a
Myth 4: Bats live in caves misinterpretation of this behaviour.
FACT: While a large proportion of Australian microbats
do live in caves, many microbats will choose to live in
Myth 10: Flying fox droppings strip paint
from cars and houses
tree hollows, roofs of houses, telephone junction boxes,
FACT ‐ Bird droppings are actually more corrosive than
sheds, rolled up beach umbrellas. In fact microbats may
flying‐fox faeces. Soaking the stain with a damp rag is
live anywhere that can provide stable conditions,
the easiest way to remove it. Unless the paint is old or
protection from weather, predators and safety. peeling, no permanent damage should result from a bat
leaving its calling card.
Myth 5: Blind as a bat
FACT: Bats are not blind, not even the microbats, PO Box 154
Mareeba QLD 4880
although they do not rely heavily on sight as much as
65 Rankin Street
Flying‐foxes do. Flying‐foxes have excellent eyesight (20 Mareeba QLD 4880
times better than our own!) and can see up to 1
kilometre at night. Many of our native trees have Telephone: 1300 308 461
evolved to have light coloured blossoms and fruit which Facsimile: (07) 4092 3323
are highly visible to Flying‐foxes on dark nights. Email: info@msc.qld.gov.au
Website: www.msc.qld.gov.au

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Fact Sheet

Flying Fox Facts

Flying Foxes (including Spectacled and

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