Flying Fox

Flying foxes are a group of large fruit-eating bat species found across South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, among the largest bats in the world, with some species having wingspans exceeding a metre and fox-like faces that give the group its common name. Unlike many smaller bats, flying foxes generally do not use echolocation and instead rely on strong eyesight and a keen sense of smell to locate fruit, nectar and flowers, feeding at night and roosting by day in large, noisy colonies called camps that can number in the tens of thousands in large trees. As important pollinators and seed dispersers for many tropical trees, flying foxes play a significant ecological role, but several species face population declines from habitat loss, hunting and, in some regions, culling linked to fruit crop damage or disease concerns.