Grey-headed flying foxes or fruitbats in the botanic gardens in Sydney Australia
The grey-headed flying fox is a fruitbat native to Australia. They are distributed along the east coast of the continent ranging from Bundaberg in southern Queensland to Geelong, Victoria where they constitute the world’s southern-most wild fruit bat colony. Grey-headed flying foxes have a maximum wingspan of over 1 metre and can weigh up to 1 kg. They are distinguished from other flying fox species by grey or white fur on the head and leg fur which extends to the ankles. During the day they reside in large roosts consisting of hundreds to hundreds of thousands of individuals. At night, the bats travel up to 50 km to feed on blossom, nectar and fruit. Breeding season occurs in March and April. Pregnant females give birth to a single pup in September or October. Grey-headed flying foxes, along with the three other Australian flying fox species, fulfil an important ecological role by dispersing the seeds and pollen of native plants. Numbers have been in decline over recent decades due to loss of habitat and in 2001 they were listed as a vulnerable species in New South Wales. During periods of food shortage, the bats may feed in commercial fruit orchards, inflicting severe damage to crops. They are also sometimes perceived as a nuisance when present in urban environments. In 1984, a permanent roost appeared in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and in 2001, a controversial culling programme was undertaken to limit the bats’ adverse effects on heritage-listed trees. Culling was abandoned following protests and calls for intervention from the federal government and the bats were relocated to Yarra Bend Park in Kew where they have remained. Grey-headed flying foxes are reservoirs for three recently emerged zoonotic viruses: Hendra virus, Australian bat lyssavirus and Menangle virus. All three viruses cause disease in humans, although only Australian bat lyssavirus is known to be directly transmissible from bats to humans.
Size: 3420px × 5130px
Photo credit: © MOB IMAGES / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: animal, australia, bat, black, blue, botanic, city, creature, creatures, day, feed, fly, flying, foxes, fruitbat, fruitbats, gardens, grey-headed, head, image, life, mob75, native, nature, nocternal, nocturnal, park, photo, photography, pic, picture, sky, sleep, south, sydney, tree, wales, wildlife, wing, wingspan
