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FNQWR Member Renee feeding a Flying Fox.

Bats & Flying Foxes (General)

Bats and Flying Foxes are similar to humans in that they are placental mammals. This means that they do not have pouches like marsupials and give birth to well developed young (pups).

The young hang on to their mother with their mouth wings and feet while Mum supports them with her wing.

There are two main species of bats:-

  • Microbats - feed mainly on insects. They are smaller than flying foxes and have very small eyes.
  • Megabats - feed on fruit and nectar. They are larger in size and have large eyes.

Habitat

  • Flying Foxes and bats are common in Tropical North Queensland. Some species are solitary whilst others (like Flying Foxes) roost in colonies during the day and forage for food at night.

Diet

  • Microbats feed on insects which they locate using their sonar.
  • Flying Foxes feed on nectar, fruits, both native and introduced i.e. mangoes.
  • During mango season, the noisy "squabbles" of flying foxes can be heard in suburbia as they feed on the mangoes.