Appearance
The Black Flying-Fox has short black hair with a contrasting reddish-brown mantle with a mean forearm length of 164 mm and a mean weight of 710 grams . It is one of the largest bat species in the world, and has a wing-span of more than one metre.
Distribution
Black Flying-Foxes are native to Australia , Papua New Guinea and Indonesia .
Status
The Black Flying-Fox is not listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List; nevertheless, the species is exposed to several threatening processes, including loss of foraging and roosting habitat, and mass die-offs caused by extreme temperature events. When present in urban environments Black Flying-Foxes are sometimes perceived as a nuisance. Because the roosting and foraging habits of the Black Flying-Fox bring the species into conflict with humans, it suffers from direct killing of animals in orchards and harassment and destruction of roosts.Reproduction
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.Food
Black Flying-Foxes eat pollen and nectar from native eucalyptus, Lilypillies, paperbark and turpentine trees. When native foods are scarce, particularly during drought, the bats may take introduced or commercial fruits such as mangos and apples. This species had been known to travel up to 50 km a night in search of food.Defense
During the day individuals reside in large roosts consisting of hundreds to tens of thousands of individuals. They sometimes share their roosts with the Grey-headed Flying-Fox , the Spectacled Flying-Fox , and/or the Little Red Flying-Fox . They roost in mangroves, paperbark swamps, patches of rainforest and bamboo forests, and very rarely in caves or underneath overhangs.References:
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