| Black flying fox | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Pteropodidae |
| Genus: | Pteropus |
| Species: | P. alecto |
| Binomial name | |
| Pteropus alecto Temminck, 1837 | |
| Subspecies | |
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| Black flying fox range | |
Theblack flying fox orblack fruit bat (Pteropus alecto) is a bat in the familyPteropodidae. It is among the largest bats in the world, but is considerably smaller than the largest species in its genus,Pteropus. The black flying fox is native to Australia,Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. It is not a threatened species.
Juvenile specimens of this species fromMoa Island inTorres Strait have been described as a separate species,Pteropus banakrisi.[2] This supposed species was known as the "Torresian flying fox" or "Moa Island fruit bat".
The black flying fox has short, black hair with a contrasting reddish-brown mantle, and a mean forearm length of 164 mm (6.46 in) and a mean weight of 710 g (1.57 lb). It is one of the largest bat species in the world, and has a wingspan of more than 1 metre (39 in).
Black flying foxes are native to Australia (New South Wales,Queensland,Northern Territory andWestern Australia), Papua New Guinea (Western Province) and Indonesia (West Papua,Sulawesi,Sumba, andSavu).
During the day, individuals reside in large roosts (colonies or 'camps') consisting of hundreds to tens of thousands of individuals. They sometimes share their roosts with thegrey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), thespectacled flying fox (P. conspicillatus), and/or thelittle red flying fox (P. scapulatus). They roost in mangroves, paperbark swamps, patches of rainforest and bamboo forests, and very rarely in caves or underneath overhangs.
Black flying foxes breed once a year. A single young is born, and carried by its mother for the first month of life, after which it is left behind in the roost when the mother is out foraging at night.
Black flying foxes eat pollen and nectar from nativeeucalyptus, lilypillies,paperbark, andturpentine trees. When native foods are scarce, particularly during drought, the bats may take introduced or commercial fruits, such asmangos andapples. This species had been known to travel up to 50 km (31 mi) a night in search of food. In residential areas, the species has adapted to eating introducedcocos palm trees as a substitute for scarcer native species - and now accounts for around 30% of the animals' food source. However, the high acidity of the palm fruits can prove toxic and may lead to death.[3]
The black flying fox is not listed as threatened on theIUCN Red List; nevertheless, the species is exposed to several threats, including loss of foraging and roosting habitat, and mass die-offs caused by extreme temperature events.[4] Because climate change is predicted to make Australia hotter, the negative impacts this species faces from extreme temperature events are expected to grow into a larger problem.[5] According to one study, these animals begin to die once temperatures reach above 40°C.[5] Another study of records from wildlife rehabilitation clinics in Australia found that heat stress particularly affected black flying foxes compared to other flying fox species. Clinic records indicated that 46% of wildlife rescues of black flying foxes were due to heat stress, compared to 18% ofgrey-headed flying fox rescues and 8% oflittle red flying fox rescues.[6]
When present in urban environments, black flying foxes are sometimes perceived as a nuisance. Because their roosting and foraging habits bring the species into conflict withhumans, it suffers from direct killing of animals in orchards and harassment and destruction of roosts. InIndonesia, this species is frequently consumed asbushmeat, with concerns that the population loss might not besustainable.[7]
Negative public perception of the species has intensified with the discovery of three recently emergedzoonoticviruses that are potentially fatal to humans:Australian bat lyssavirus,[8]Hendra virus, andMenangle virus. However, only the Australian bat lyssavirus is known from two isolated cases to be directly transmissible from bats to humans.
Flying foxes often come to the attention of Australian wildlife care and rescue organisations, such as Wildcare Australia,[9] Orphan Native Animal Rear and Release Association Incorporated,[10] Wildlife Carers Darling Downs, Bat Care, Bat Rescue, Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers, andWIRES when reported as injured, sick, orphaned or abandoned. A very high proportion of adult flying fox injuries are caused by entanglement in barbed wire fences or loose, improperly erected fruit tree netting, both of which can result in very serious injuries and a slow, agonizing death for the animal if not rescued quickly.
