
''Pteropus'' (suborder
Yinpterochiroptera
The Yinpterochiroptera (or Pteropodiformes) is a suborder of the Chiroptera, which includes taxa formerly known as megabats and five of the microbat families: Rhinopomatidae, Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, Craseonycteridae, and Megadermatidae. T ...
) is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names.
They live in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
,
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
East Africa
East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
, and some oceanic islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
There are at least 60
extant
Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to:
* Extant hereditary titles
* Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English
* Exta ...
species in the genus.
Flying foxes eat fruit and other plant matter, and occasionally consume insects as well. They locate resources with their keen sense of smell.
Most, but not all, are
nocturnal
Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatur ...
. They navigate with keen eyesight, as they cannot
echolocate.
They have
long life spans and low reproductive outputs, with females of most species producing only one offspring per year. Their slow life history makes their populations vulnerable to threats such as
overhunting,
culling, and natural disasters. Six flying fox species have been made
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
in modern times by overhunting. Flying foxes are often persecuted for their real or perceived role in
damaging crops. They are ecologically beneficial by assisting in the regeneration of forests via
seed dispersal. They benefit ecosystems and human interests by
pollinating plants.
Like other bats, flying foxes are relevant to humans as a source of disease, as they are the
reservoirs of rare but fatal disease agents including
Australian bat lyssavirus, which causes
rabies, and
Hendra virus; seven known human deaths have resulted from these two diseases.
Nipah virus is also transmitted by flying foxes—it affects more people, with over 100 attributed fatalities. They have cultural significance to indigenous people, with appearances in traditional art, folklore, and weaponry. Their fur and teeth were used as currency in the past. Some cultures still use their teeth as currency today.
Taxonomy and etymology
The genus name ''Pteropus'', from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
'πτερόν' (pterón), meaning "wing", and 'πούς' (poús), meaning "foot", was coined by French zoologist
Mathurin Jacques Brisson
Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosophy, natural philosopher.
Brisson was born on 30 April 1723 at Fontenay-le-Comte in the Vendée department of western France. Note that page 14 ...
in 1762.
Prior to 1998, genus authority was sometimes given to German naturalist
Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben.
Although the Brisson publication (1762) predated the Erxleben publication (1777), thus giving him preference under the
Principle of Priority, some authors gave preference to Erxleben as genus authority because Brisson's publication did not consistently use
binomial nomenclature
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...
.
In 1998, the
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) decided that Brisson's 1762 publication was a "rejected work" for nomenclatural purposes. Despite rejecting the majority of the publication, the ICZN decided to conserve a dozen generic names from the work and retain Brisson as authority, including ''Pteropus''.
The
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
of the genus is the
Mauritian flying fox, ''Pteropus niger'' (described as ''Vespertilio vampyrus niger'' by
Robert Kerr in 1792).
The decision to designate ''P. niger'' as the type species was made by the ICZN through their
plenary power
A plenary power or plenary authority is a complete and absolute power to take action on a particular issue, with no limitations. It is derived from the Latin language, Latin term .
United States
In United States constitutional law, plenary powe ...
s over biological nomenclature.
The phrase "flying fox" has been used to refer to ''Pteropus'' bats since at least 1759.
Species
Description
External characteristics

Flying fox species vary in body weight, ranging from . Across all species, males are usually larger than females.
The
large flying fox has the longest forearm length and reported wingspan of any bat species,
but some bat species exceed it in weight.
Its wingspan is up to , and it can weigh up to .
The
Indian and
great
Great may refer to:
Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
* Artel Great (bo ...
flying foxes are heavier, at , respectively.
Outside this genus, the
giant golden-crowned flying fox (genus ''
Acerodon'') is the only bat with similar dimensions.
Most flying fox species are considerably smaller and generally weigh less than .
Smaller species such as the
masked,
Temminck's,
Guam
Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, and
dwarf
Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore
* Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...
flying foxes all weigh less than .
The pelage is long and silky with a dense underfur.
In many species, individuals have a "mantle" of contrasting fur color on the back of their head, the shoulders, and the upper back.
They lack tails. As the common name "flying fox" suggests, their heads resemble that of a small fox because of their small ears and large eyes. Females have one pair of
mammae located in the chest region. Their ears are long and pointed at the tip and lack
tragi, the outer margin of each ear forming an unbroken ring.
The toes have sharp, curved claws. While
microbats only have a claw on each thumb of their forelimbs, flying foxes additionally have a claw on each index finger.
Skull and dentition

The skulls of ''Pteropus'' species are composed of 24 bones, the
snout is made of 7, the
cranium of 16 and the
mandible
In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla).
The jawbone i ...
is a single bone. It has a large and bulbous
braincase. Like all mammals, flying foxes have three
middle ear ossicles which assist in transmitting sound to the brain. Flying fox skulls continue to develop after they are born. Compared to adults, young flying foxes have very short snouts; as they reach maturity, the
maxilla elongates, gaining bone between the
zygomatic processes and the
canine teeth.
Based on the
grey-headed flying fox's development, pups are born with some
milk teeth already erupted: canines and
incisors. By 9 days old, all the milk teeth have emerged, with a
dental formula of and a total of 20 teeth. By 140 days old (4.6 months), all the milk teeth have fallen and been replaced by
permanent teeth. The canines are usually replaced first, followed by the
premolars, incisors, and then
molars
The molars or molar teeth are large, flat tooth, teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammal, mammals. They are used primarily to comminution, grind food during mastication, chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, '' ...
.
The adult dental formula is for a total of 34 teeth. The
occlusal surface of the molars is generally smooth but with longitudinal furrows.
Internal systems
Flying foxes have large hearts and a relatively fast
heart rate: resting individuals have a heart rate of 100–400 beats per minute.
Flying foxes have simple
digestive tracts;
the time between ingestion and excretion is as short as 12 minutes. They lack both a
cecum
The cecum ( caecum, ; plural ceca or caeca, ) is a pouch within the peritoneum that is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is typically located on the right side of the body (the same side of the body as the appendix (a ...
and an
appendix.
The stomach has marked
cardiac and fundic regions.
Intelligence
The megabats, including flying foxes, have the greatest
encephalization quotient (brain size relative to body size) of any bat family at 1.20.
This value is equivalent to that of domestic dogs.
Flying foxes display behaviors that indicate a reliance on long-term information storage. Though they have wide-ranging movements and cover thousands of square kilometers annually, they are consistently able to locate the same resource patches and roosts. They will visit these resource patches consistently in a strategy known as
trap-lining. They can also be
conditioned to perform behaviors, such as one study where
spectacled flying foxes were trained to pull a lever using juice as a
reinforcement. In a follow-up to the initial study, individuals who had learned to pull the lever to receive juice still did so 3.5 years later.
Senses
Smell

Flying foxes rely heavily on their sense of smell.
They have large
olfactory bulb
The olfactory bulb (Latin: ''bulbus olfactorius'') is a neural structure of the vertebrate forebrain involved in olfaction, the sense of smell. It sends olfactory information to be further processed in the amygdala, the orbitofrontal cortex (OF ...
s to process scents. They use scent to locate food, for mothers to locate their pups, and for mates to locate each other.
Males have enlarged
androgen
An androgen (from Greek ''andr-'', the stem of the word meaning ) is any natural or synthetic steroid hormone that regulates the development and maintenance of male characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors. This includes ...
-sensitive
sebaceous glands on their shoulders that they use for
scent-marking their territories, particularly during the mating season. The secretions of these glands vary by species—of the 65 chemical compounds identified from the glands of four species, no compound was found in all species.
Males also engage in "
urine washing", meaning that they coat themselves in their own urine.
Sight
Flying foxes do not
echolocate, and therefore rely on sight to navigate. Their eyes are relatively large and positioned on the front of their heads, giving them
binocular vision.
Like most mammals, though not
primate
Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...
s, they are
dichromatic.
They have both
rods and
cones; they have "blue" cones that detect short-wavelength light and "green" cones that detect medium-to-long-wavelengths. The rods greatly outnumber the cones, however, as cones comprise only 0.5% of photoreceptors. Flying foxes are adapted to
seeing in low-light conditions.
Evolutionary history
Flying foxes are poorly represented in the fossil record. Relative to the current number of extant species, the Pteropodidae has one of the most incomplete fossil records of any bat group.
As of 2014, no flying fox fossils are known from before the
Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
.
Many flying foxes live in the
tropics
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
, where conditions for fossilization are poor.
Based on
molecular evolution, flying foxes diverged from a common ancestor with ''
Rousettus'' 28–18 million years ago
and from their
sister taxa ''
Neopteryx'' and ''Acerodon'' 6.6–10.6 million years ago.
''Neopteryx'', ''Acerodon'', ''
Desmalopex'', ''
Melonycteris'', ''
Mirimiri'', ''
Pteralopex'', and ''
Styloctenium'' are all relatively closely related to the flying foxes, as they are the other members of its
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
Pteropodinae.
Phylogenetic analysis indicates that flying foxes diversified rapidly in an explosive
evolutionary radiation
An evolutionary radiation is an increase in taxonomic diversity that is caused by elevated rates of speciation, that may or may not be associated with an increase in morphological disparity. A significantly large and diverse radiation within ...
, creating many taxa in a relatively short time frame.
Most flying fox lineages emerged after the
Zanclean
The Zanclean is the lowest stage or earliest age on the geologic time scale of the Pliocene. It spans the time between 5.332 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago) and 3.6 ± 0.005 Ma. It is preceded by the Messinian Age of the Miocene Epoch, and f ...
, with two major
clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
s created: one consisting of the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
species and the other of the
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...
n,
Micronesian, Australian, and insular
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
n species. Flying foxes likely originated on mainland Asia; molecular data suggests that there were at least three
colonization events into the Indian Ocean. One event resulted in
Livingstone's fruit bat and the
Pemba flying fox, which are the westernmost flying foxes. A second colonization event resulted in the
Rodrigues flying fox to
Rodrigues Island; while a third event resulted in several species diverging to
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
, the
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
,
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, and
Aldabra.
With one possible exception - the masked flying fox (''P. personatus''), flying foxes are likely
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
. There are over 60 extant species of flying fox.
Flying foxes are now present from the western Indian Ocean midway through the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
as far east as the
Cook Islands.
They are found in tropical and subtropical climates.
Biology and ecology
Reproduction and life cycle

Many species of flying fox are
polygynandrous, meaning that each individual will mate with several other individuals.
The
Samoa flying fox is a notable exception because it is
monogamous.
Flying fox sexual behaviors include oral sex in addition to intercourse, with
fellatio and
cunnilingus observed between opposite sexes, as well as homosexual fellatio in at least one species, the
Bonin flying fox.
Opposite-sex oral sex is associated with increased duration of intercourse, while same-sex fellatio is hypothesized to encourage colony formation of otherwise-antagonistic males in colder climates.
Flying fox
gestation length varies among species; gestation length is 140–190 days (4.6–6.3 months).
Females have a
litter size of one young at a time, called a pup.
Twins have been occasionally documented in some species, however. Twins can be
fraternal,
identical, or the result of
superfetation.
Pups are
altricial
Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial ...
and sparsely furred at birth, thereby dependent on their mothers for care.
Pups are relatively small at birth, weighing approximately 12% of the mother's weight. Bats in other genera can have pups that weigh as much as 30% of the mother's weight at birth.
They cling to their mothers' abdomens, gripping her fur with their thumb claws and teeth; females carry the pups for the first several weeks of life. After this, the females may leave the pups behind at the roost at night while they forage.
As with nearly all bat species, males do not assist females in parental care.
While male flying foxes of at least one species, the
Bismarck masked flying fox, can
lactate, it is unclear if the lactation is functional and males actually nurse pups or if it is a result of
stress or
malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
.
Pups
fledge
Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between egg, hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight.
This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnera ...
beginning at 3 months old, but may not be
weaned until 4–6 months old. Pups may stay with their mothers until age one. Flying foxes do not reach
sexual maturity until 1.5–2 years old. Females can have up to two litters annually, though one is the norm due to the long weaning period. Most flying foxes are
seasonal breeders and give birth in the
spring, though the
Mariana fruit bat seems to have aseasonal breeding with new pups documented throughout the year.
Females remain
fertile with no decrease in reproductive capability for at least the first 12 or 13 years of life.
Flying foxes, like all bats, are long-lived relative to their size.
In the wild, average lifespans are likely 15 years.
However, individuals part of populations that face excessive
disturbance may have lifespans as short as 7.1 years.
In captivity, individuals can live approximately 20–28 years.
The longest-lived flying fox was an Indian flying fox named Statler, who was a resident at Bat World Sanctuary for his last few years. He was born at a zoo in 1987, and was 34 years old at the time of his death.
Social systems

Most flying fox species are
gregarious and form large aggregations of individuals called
colonies or "camps." The large flying fox forms colonies of up to 15,000 individuals,
while the
little red flying fox forms colonies of up to 100,000 individuals.
A few species and subspecies, such as
Orii's flying fox (''P. dasymallus inopinatus'') and the
Ceram fruit bat, are solitary.
Colony size varies throughout the year in response to biological needs. The grey-headed flying fox forms
harems during the breeding season consisting of one male and up to six females. These colonies break up after the breeding season is over.
In the Bonin flying fox, colony formation is based on both the sex and age of individuals, as well as the season. In the winter breeding season, adult females will form colonies that include a few adult males (likely harems). Adult males who do not roost with females will form colonies with other adult and
subadult males. Subadults will form mixed-sex "subadult groups" with each other. In the summer, however, individuals are solitary, with the exception of
nursing females, who roost with their pups.
Diet and foraging
Flying foxes consume 25–35% of their body weight daily.
They are
generalists that will consume a variety of items to meet their nutritional needs. Food items include fruit, flowers, nectar, and leaves.
They will sometimes deliberately consume insects such as
cicada
The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...
s as well.
In Australia,
eucalypt blossoms and pollen are preferred food sources, followed by ''
Melaleuca
''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...
'' and ''
Banksia'' flowers
They feed on a wide variety of
crop
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel.
When plants of the same spe ...
s as well, causing conflicts with farmers. Crops eaten by flying foxes include
sisal,
cashew
Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...
,
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae.
The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...
,
areca
''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of Arecaceae, palms in the family (biology), family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines and Malaysia, India, and across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ' ...
,
breadfruit
Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family ( Moraceae) believed to have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...
,
jackfruit
The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae).
The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...
,
neem,
papaya,
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes.
''Citrus'' is nativ ...
,
fig,
mango,
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
,
avocado,
guava,
sugar cane,
tamarind,
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
s, and more.
In captivity, the recommended diet for flying foxes consists of two-thirds hard fruits like pears and apples and one-third soft fruits. Bananas and other high-fiber fruits should only be offered occasionally, as flying foxes are not adapted to high-fiber diets. Protein supplements are recommended for captive flying foxes; other supplements such as
vitamin C
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...
,
calcium,
chondroitin sulfate, and
glucosamine can be recommended periodically.
The majority of flying fox species are
nocturnal
Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatur ...
and forage at night. A few island species and subspecies are
diurnal, however, hypothesized as a response to a lack of predators. Diurnal taxa include ''
P. melanotus natalis'', the Mauritian flying fox, the
Caroline flying fox, ''
P. p. insularis'', and the
Seychelles fruit bat. Foraging resources are often far from roosts, with individuals traveling up to to reach them.
Flying foxes can travel at for three hours or more, and can reach top speeds of .
Some colonial species will forage in groups, especially when resources are abundant. Less social species will forage alone.
When they land on a tree with food, they will hang onto the branch with their clawed hind feet and use their clawed thumbs to pull branches bearing flowers or fruits towards them.
As they forage on fruit, flying foxes will compress the fruit against the
palate with the tongue to squeeze out and consume the juices. The rest of the fruit is then discarded in "ejecta pellets."
Role in ecosystems
Flying foxes have important roles as
seed dispersers and
pollinator
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.
Insects are ...
s. They help spread the seeds in the fruit they eat by discarding them in ejecta pellets or through their
guano. In Madagascar, fig seeds have better germination success if they have passed through the gut of a flying fox, which is important because fig trees are a vital
pioneer species in regenerating lost forest. Even though flying foxes can have a gut transit time as fast as 12 minutes, seeds can be retained in the gut for as long as 20 hours. As the flying foxes travel large distances, seeds can be deposited up to from the parent tree. They are particularly important in fragmented forests, as many other frugivores are terrestrial and often confined to forest fragments.
Flying foxes have the capability to spread seeds beyond the forest fragments through flight.
Flying foxes pollinate a variety of plants, including the economically valuable
durian. They forage on its nectar in such a way that the flowers (and eventual fruit production) are not usually harmed. Flying fox pollination has a positive effect on durian reproductive success, suggesting that both flying foxes and durian trees
benefit from this relationship.
Conservation
Conservation status

Of the 62 flying fox species evaluated by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
as of 2018, 3 are considered
critically endangered
An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...
: the
Aru flying fox, Livingstone's fruit bat, and the
Vanikoro flying fox. Another 7 species are listed as
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
; 20 are listed as
vulnerable, 6 as
near threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...
, 14 as
least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
, and 8 as
data deficient. A further 4 are listed as
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
: the
dusky flying fox, the
large Palau flying fox, the
small Mauritian flying fox, and the Guam flying fox.
Over half of the species are threatened today with extinction, and in particular in the Pacific, a number of species have died out as a result of hunting, deforestation, and predation by invasive species.
Six flying fox species are believed to have gone extinct from 1864 to 2014: the Guam, large Palau, small Mauritian, dusky,
large Samoan, and the
small Samoan flying foxes.
Legal status
All species of ''Pteropus'' are placed on
Appendix II of
CITES and 10 on
Appendix I, which restricts international trade. Individual species have different legal protections from hunting and domestic trade that reflect the environmental laws of the countries where they are found.
In some countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, flying foxes are absolutely protected from harm under the Wildlife Preservation and Security Act of 2012, Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance of 1937, and Wildlife Protection and Reservation Act of 1992, respectively.
However, in Thailand, flying fox poaching and the illegal bushmeat trade still occurs outside of
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
s. The large flying fox and the small flying fox are particularly prone to poaching and roost disturbance.
In other countries, such as Australia, Japan, and the United States, some species of conservation concern are protected under national environmental legislation, while others are not. In Australia, two flying foxes are listed under the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999: the grey-headed and spectacled flying foxes are listed as "vulnerable."
Farmers can apply for permits to kill flying foxes when they are causing crop damage.
Several flying fox species occur in Japan. The Bonin flying fox has been a
Natural Monument of Japan since 1969, which means that it is illegal to capture or disturb them without appropriate permits.
Two subspecies of the Ryukyu flying fox (''P. d. dasymallus'' and ''P. d. daitoensis'') are also listed as Natural Monuments.
Flying foxes are not designated game species in Japan, and therefore cannot be legally hunted per the Wildlife Protection and Hunting Law.
The Bonin flying fox and ''P. d. daitoensis'' are also listed as National Endangered Species, meaning that they cannot be killed or harmed; furthermore, the sale or transfer of live or dead individuals in whole or part is also prohibited without permits.
Despite not occurring in the continental United States, several species and subspecies are listed under its
Endangered Species Act of 1973. ''Pteropus mariannus mariannus''—a subspecies of the Mariana fruit bat—is listed as
threatened while the Rodrigues flying fox and Guam flying fox are listed as
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
.
Additionally, the U. S. government has been petitioned to list the Aru flying fox and Bonin flying fox as threatened or endangered.
In such countries as India and Pakistan, flying foxes explicitly have no legal protection. In India, they are listed as "
vermin
Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases and destroy crops, livestock, and property. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by regi ...
" under the
Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
Pakistan's only flying fox, the Indian flying fox, is listed under Schedule 4 of the Punjab Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Act of 1974, meaning that it has no legal protections and can be hunted.
In Mauritius, flying foxes were formerly protected but are now legally culled at a large scale. In 2015, the Mauritian government passed the Native Terrestrial Biodiversity And National Parks Act, which legalized culling of the Mauritian flying fox. In Mauritius, over 40,000 Mauritian flying foxes were culled in a two-year period, reducing its population by an estimated 45%.
This decision was viewed with controversy, with researchers stating "Because they spread seeds and pollinate flowers, flying foxes are vital for regenerating lost forests."
Legal protection can vary within a country as well, such as in
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Under the 1990 Protection of Wild Life Amendment Order, flying foxes can be hunted with a permit; each permit is good for killing up to 50 flying foxes. Permits cost U.S.$8 each. However, under the Protection of WildLife Act of 1972, flying foxes can be killed without permits if they are causing damage or if there is "reason to believe that it is about to cause serious damage" to crops.
In 2012, the Malaysian state of
Terengganu issued a moratorium on hunting flying foxes.
In
Sarawak
Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...
, all bat species are listed as "Protected" and hunting them is not legal.
Factors causing decline
Anthropogenic sources

Flying foxes species are declining or going extinct as a result of several
human impacts to their environments, in addition to natural phenomena.
Their populations are especially vulnerable to threats because the litter size is usually only individual and females generally only have one litter per year. Even when nearly every female (90%) successfully produces and raises young, if a population's
mortality rate
Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular Statistical population, population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically ...
exceeds 22% annually, then it will steadily decline.
Invasive species, such as the
brown tree snake, can seriously affect populations; the brown tree snake consumes so many pups that it reduced the
recruitment of the
Guam
Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
population of the Mariana fruit bat to essentially zero.
Many flying fox species are threatened by overhunting. While they have long been a dietary component of indigenous people,
expanding human population and more efficient weapons have resulted in population declines,
local extinction
Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with extinction, global extinctions.
Local extinctions ...
s, and extinctions. Overhunting is believed to be the primary cause of extinction for the small Mauritian flying fox and the Guam flying fox.
Flying foxes are also threatened with excessive culling due to conflict with farmers. They are shot, beaten to death, or poisoned to reduce their populations. Mortality also occurs via accidental entanglement into
netting
In law, set-off or netting is a legal technique applied between persons or businesses with mutual rights and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities, replacing gross positions with net positions. It permits the rights to be used to discharg ...
used to prevent the bats from eating fruit.
Culling can dramatically reduce flying fox populations.
In Mauritius, over 40,000 Mauritian flying foxes were culled in a two-year period, reducing its population by an estimated 45%.
Flying foxes are also killed by electrocution. In one Australian orchard, it is estimated that over 21,000 bats were electrocuted to death in an 8-week period.
Farmers construct electrified grids over their fruit trees to kill flying foxes before they can consume their crop. The grids are questionably effective at preventing crop loss, with one farmer who operated such a grid estimating that they still lost of fruit to flying foxes in a year.
Some electrocution deaths are also accidental, such as when bats fly into
overhead power lines.
Climate change causes flying fox mortality and a source of concern for species persistence. Extreme heat waves in Australia have been responsible for the
deaths of more than 30,000 Australian flying foxes from 1994 to 2008. Females and young bats are most susceptible to extreme heat, which affects a population's ability to recover.
Flying foxes are threatened by sea level rise associated with climate change, as several taxa are endemic to low-lying
atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...
s.
Natural sources
Because many species are endemic to a single island, they are vulnerable to random events such as
typhoon
A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
s. A 1979 typhoon halved the remaining population of the Rodrigues flying fox. Typhoons result in indirect mortality as well: Because they defoliate the trees, flying foxes are more visible and easily hunted by humans. Food resources for the bats become scarce after major storms, and flying foxes resort to riskier foraging strategies such as consuming fallen fruit off the ground. There, they are more vulnerable to depredation by domestic cats, dogs, and pigs.
Flying foxes are also threatened by disease such as
tick paralysis. Tick paralysis affects the spectacled flying fox, and is responsible for an estimated 1% of its annual mortality.
Captive breeding

Several species of endangered flying fox are bred in captivity to augment their population sizes. Critically endangered Livingstone's fruit bats were taken from the wild starting in 1995 to create a
captive breeding
Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of keeping plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, Botanical garden, botanic gardens, and other Conservation biology, conservation facilitie ...
program. All captive individuals remain the property of the
Comorian government.
17 individuals were collected from the wild; with breeding, there are 71 in captivity as of 2017. Individuals are held at the
Jersey Zoo and the
Bristol Zoo.
Though the program has been successful in increasing the population, caretakers of the captive population have had to deal with
husbandry issues such as
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...
and
cardiomyopathy.
Relative to their wild counterparts, captive bats have a higher percentage of body fat and a lower percentage of muscle mass. The problem is pronounced in
dominant males, which are the most
sedentary. Addressing these concerns involves increasing flight space so that the animals can exercise adequately.
Keepers are also exploring ways of distributing food within enclosures to encourage exercise.
The endangered Rodrigues flying fox has been bred in captivity with great success. By 1979, only 70–100 individuals were left in the world. In 1976, 25 individuals were removed from the wild by
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust to begin a breeding program.
In 1988, the breeding program was called "undoubtedly the most important chiropteran breeding project now in operation."
By 2016, there were 180 individuals in 16 zoos across the United States alone.
Worldwide, 46 zoos participate in the Rodrigues flying fox breeding program as of 2017.
Relationship to people
Food

Many flying foxes species are killed for
bushmeat
Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are Hunting, hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity in poor and rural communities of humid tropical forest regions of the worl ...
. The bushmeat harvest is often unsustainable, often resulting in severe population decline or
local extinction
Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with extinction, global extinctions.
Local extinctions ...
. Flying foxes are killed and sold for bushmeat in several countries in Southeast Asia,
South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
, and
Oceania
Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
, including
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, Malaysia,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, Bangladesh, China,
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
, and Guam.
Flying fox consumption is particularly common in countries with low
food security
Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...
and lack of environmental regulation.
In some cultures in the region, however, eating flying fox meat is
taboo
A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
. In
Namoluk, locals are repulsed by the idea of eating flying foxes because the flying foxes urinate on themselves.
In predominately
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
regions such as much of Indonesia, flying foxes are rarely consumed because of
halal
''Halal'' (; ) is an Arabic word that translates to in English. Although the term ''halal'' is often associated with Islamic dietary laws, particularly meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, it also governs ethical practices ...
dietary restrictions.
North Sulawesi
North Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is mainly located on the Minahasa Peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia, but also includes various small archipel ...
has the greatest demand for flying fox bushmeat. Despite being in Muslim-majority Indonesia, North Sulawesi is predominately
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
; therefore, many locals do not follow halal guidelines prohibiting flying fox consumption. In
Manado
Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...
, most local people consume flying fox meat at least once a month. The frequency of flying fox consumption increases tenfold around holidays.
Locals believe that "unique meat" from undomesticated animals should be served on special occasions to "enliven the atmosphere." Suggestions to make the flying fox bushmeat trade more sustainable include enforcing a quota system for harvesting, encouraging hunters to release female and juvenile individuals, and providing economic alternatives to those who make a living selling flying fox bushmeat.
In Guam and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, consumption of the Mariana fruit bat exposes locals to the
neurotoxin beta-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) which may later lead to
neurodegenerative diseases
A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mul ...
. BMAA may become
biomagnified in humans who consume flying foxes; flying foxes are exposed to BMAA by eating
cycad fruits.
Medicine
Flying foxes are killed for use in traditional medicine. The Indian flying fox, for example, has many perceived medical uses.
Some believe that its fat is a treatment for
rheumatism.
Tribes in the
Attappadi region of India eat the cooked flesh of the Indian flying fox to treat asthma and chest pain.
Healers of the Kanda tribe of Bangladesh use hair from Indian flying foxes to create treatments for "fever with shivering."
Transmitting disease

Flying foxes are the
natural reservoirs of several viruses, some of which can be
transmitted to humans. Notably, flying foxes can transmit
lyssaviruses, which cause
rabies. In Australia the
rabies virus is not naturally present;
Australian bat lyssavirus is the only lyssavirus present. Australian bat lyssavirus was first identified in 1996; it is very rarely transmitted to humans. Transmission occurs from the bite or scratch of an infected animal, but can also occur from getting the infected animal's saliva in a
mucous membrane or an open
wound
A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying diseas ...
. Exposure to flying fox blood, urine, or feces is not a risk of exposure to Australian bat lyssavirus.
Since 1994, there have been three records of people getting infected with it—all three were in
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
and each case was fatal.
Flying foxes are also reservoirs of
henipaviruses such as
Hendra virus and
Nipah virus. Hendra virus was first identified in 1994; it also rarely occurs humans. From 1994 to 2013, there have been seven reported cases of Hendra virus affecting people, four of which were fatal. The hypothesized primary route of human infection is via contact with
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
s that have come into contact with flying fox
urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...
.
There are no documented instances of direct transmission between flying foxes and humans.
As of 2012, there is a
vaccine
A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
available for horses to decrease the likelihood of infection and transmission.
Nipah virus was first identified in 1998 in Malaysia. Since 1998, there have been several Nipah outbreaks in Malaysia,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, and Bangladesh, resulting in over 100 casualties. A 2018 outbreak in
Kerala, India resulted in 19 humans infected, of which 17 died.
The overall fatality rate is 40–75%. Humans can contract Nipah virus from direct contact with flying foxes or their fluids, through exposure to an intermediate
host such as
domestic pigs, or from contact with an infected person.
A 2014 study of the Indian flying fox and Nipah virus found that while Nipah virus outbreaks are more likely in areas preferred by flying foxes, "the presence of bats in and of itself is not considered a risk factor for Nipah virus infection." Rather, the consumption of
date palm sap is a significant route of transmission. The practice of date palm sap collection involves placing collecting pots at date palm trees. Indian flying foxes have been observed licking the sap as it flows into the pots, as well as defecating and urinating in proximity to the pots. In this way, humans who drink the palm sap can be exposed to the bats' viruses.
The use of bamboo skirts on collecting pots lowers the risk of contamination from bat fluids.
Flying foxes can transmit several non-lethal diseases as well, such as
Menangle virus and
Nelson Bay virus.
These viruses rarely affect humans and few cases have been reported.
While other bat species have been suspected or implicated as the reservoir of diseases such as
SARS and
Ebola
Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...
, flying foxes are not suspected as hosts for either causative virus.
Pests
Flying foxes are often considered
pests
PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...
due to the damage they cause to
orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...
crops. Flying foxes have been cited as particularly destructive to
almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
s,
guavas, and
mangoes in the Maldives;
lychee in Mauritius;
areca
''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of Arecaceae, palms in the family (biology), family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines and Malaysia, India, and across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ' ...
in India; and
stone fruits in Australia. Orchard damages from other animals are often misattributed to flying foxes, though, and economic damage can be difficult to quantify or exaggerated.
To prevent fruit damage, farmers may legally or illegally cull flying foxes. In the 1800s, the Australian government paid farmers
bounties to kill flying foxes, though the practice has since been discontinued.
Alternatives to culling include placing barriers between the bats and fruit trees, such as netting, or harvesting fruit in a timely manner to avoid attracting as many flying foxes.
Netting is the most effective way to prevent crop loss, though some farmers find it cost prohibitive. It costs US$4,400–44,000 to net of crops.
Other methods of preventing fruit loss may also involve the use of scare guns, chemical deterrents, or night-time lights. Alternatively, planting
Singapore cherry trees and other
decoy crops next to an orchard can be effective, as flying foxes are much more attracted to their fruits than many other orchard crops.
The location of flying fox camps can be a disturbance to humans. In
Batemans Bay, Australia, locals report being so disturbed by flying fox vocalizations in the morning that they lose sleep. Flying foxes can fly into power lines and cause electricity outages. Their guano and body odor are also unpleasant to smell.
The presence of flying fox colonies can cause nearby property values to decline.
In culture

Flying foxes are featured in many indigenous cultures and traditions.
A
folklore
Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
Dreamtime
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...
story from the
New South Wales North Coast in Australia features an impatient flying fox wanting the Great Spirit to teach him how to be a bird, only to be hung upside down on a branch.
They were also featured in Aboriginal cave art, as evinced by several surviving examples.
In
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
, flying foxes are considered sacred. All flying foxes are the property of the king, meaning non-royal persons cannot harm them in any way. Tongan legend states that a colony of flying foxes at
Kolovai are the descendants of a pair of flying foxes gifted to the King of Tonga by the Princess of Samoa.
In the Indian village of Puliangulam, a colony of Indian flying foxes roosts in a
Banyan tree. Villagers believe that the flying foxes are under the protection of
Muni, and do not harm the bats. A shrine to Muni is beneath the tree.
If locals believe that they have offended Muni by failing to protect the bats, they will pray and perform
puja after offering sweet rice, coconut, and bananas to those attending the ceremony.
Flying foxes are also featured in folk stories from Papua New Guinea. Stories with flying foxes include a legend about a
cockatoo stealing feathers from the flying fox, resulting in it becoming nocturnal. Another story features a flying fox that could transform into a young man; the flying fox stole a woman away from her husband to take as his wife. Another legend states that a flying fox-man was responsible for introducing
yams to their people.
Indigenous societies in Oceania used parts of flying foxes for functional and ceremonial weapons. In the Solomon Islands, people created barbs out of their bones for use in spears.
In New Caledonia,
ceremonial axes made of
jade were decorated with braids of flying fox fur.
Flying fox wings were depicted on the war shields of the
Asmat people of Indonesia; they believed that the wings offered protection to their warriors.
There are modern and historical references to flying fox byproducts used as currency. In New Caledonia, braided flying fox fur was once used as currency.
On the island of
Makira, which is part of the Solomon Islands, indigenous peoples still hunt flying foxes for their teeth as well as for bushmeat. The
canine teeth are strung together on necklaces that are used as
currency
A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...
.
Teeth of the
insular flying fox are particularly prized, as they are usually large enough to drill holes in. The
Makira flying fox is also hunted, though, despite its smaller teeth. Deterring local peoples from using flying fox teeth as currency may be detrimental to the species, with Lavery and Fasi noting, "Species that provide an important cultural resource can be highly treasured." Emphasizing
sustainable hunting of flying foxes to preserve cultural currency may be more effective than encouraging the abandonment of cultural currency. Even if flying foxes were no longer hunted for their teeth, they would still be killed for bushmeat; therefore, retaining their cultural value may encourage sustainable hunting practices.
Lavery stated, "It’s a positive, not a negative, that their teeth are so culturally valuable. The practice of hunting bats shouldn’t necessarily be stopped, it needs to be managed sustainably."
Other uses
Flying foxes and other bat species in Southeast Asia are often killed and sold as "mummies". The mummified bodies or skeletons of these bats are often shipped to the United States where they are sold in souvenir or curiosity shops or online through vendors such as
Etsy or
eBay. From 2000 to 2013, over 100,000 dead bats were imported to the United States. Bat conservationist
Merlin Tuttle wrote, "I've seen huge losses, mostly due to various kinds of over-harvesting, especially at cave entrances, either for food or for sale as mummies." Despite sometimes being advertised as "sustainable," the practice could lead to overharvesting and depletion of flying fox species, with Tuttle saying, "It is a virtual certainty that the bats you've seen advertised are not sustainably harvested."
References
{{good article
Bats of Asia
Bats of Africa
Fauna of Southeast Asia
Mammals of Thailand
Articles containing video clips
Bat genera
Taxa named by Mathurin Jacques Brisson
Taxa described in 1762