![]() ![]() Fruit bats comprise all bat species that consume fruit in their diet, including some microbats. These occur in the warm tropical and subtropical climates of countries such as Madagascar, India, New Guinea, Malaysia and Australia.Īll flying foxes are fruit bats, but not all fruit bats are flying foxes. There are about 60 species of flying foxes worldwide. They are highly social, winged mammals and generally live in colonies ranging in size from a few hundred to a few hundred thousand individuals.īats can be divided into two main groups: the microbats (generally small, insect eaters that navigate and forage by echolocation) and the megabats (larger, fruit and nectar feeders that navigate by vision). ![]() The following tidbits, gleaned from my study of these bats in Australia and the people who react to them, provide some sense of the awe, fear, reverence and disrespect afforded to these amazing creatures.įlying foxes are nocturnal, arboreal forest dwellers that roost during the day by hanging upside down from high branches. to study their ecology and behavior in an urban section of Australia.įor all their appeal to people like me, however, flying foxes have a poor public image and are still met with the same range of reactions as those exhibited by my grade-school classmates. After completing a degree in zoology and psychology, I set out to explore the nature of flying foxes firsthand, eventually pursuing a Ph.D. My fascination with these intelligent, lively and very appealing fruit bats has continued to this day. Amid the screaming, laughing and diving for cover that promptly took place around me, a flying fox connected with my arm. Before I could consider the consequences, the furry object relaxed its foothold, opened its black-velvet wings and launched itself into the air. I was already utterly mesmerized when she asked me to hold out my arm. The reactions of my classmates ranged from fascination to terror, but the woman assured us that we were quite safe. To our amazement, it had a doglike face with a shiny nose, twitching ears and large brown eyes - attached to a furry, leathery body. Before any of us were able to distinguish the exact nature of this appendage, the woman reached up to detach it from her shoulder. She appeared slightly disabled by a dark, furry growth that was attached to her left shoulder. An odd-looking woman had walked into the room. ![]() Unexpectedly, our teacher had interrupted the class's usual routine and asked us all to come forward to meet a visitor. WHENEVER I am asked how I got involved with flying foxes, I vividly remember that first encounter: Grade Eight, fourth period (biology), just before lunch. Everything You Wanted to Know About Foxes That Fly ![]()
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