Mammals · Chiroptera · Pteropodidae

Black Flying Fox

Pteropus alecto

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The black flying fox is one of the large fruit bats of Australia and is also found in New Guinea and Indonesia. It has a black coat with a reddish collar on the nape and a wingspan that can approach a metre. It forms noisy daytime camps in mangroves and woodland, increasingly within the cities of northern Australia. It feeds on nectar, pollen and fruit, and travels up to fifty kilometres a night, pollinating and dispersing seeds along the way.

Weight

500 g – 1 kg

Size

22 cm – 28 cm

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestTemperate forestHerbivore Nocturnal Colonial Rainforest Temperate forest Mammal

3countries 12parks9same family

Fun facts

It is a long-distance pollinator: it carries the pollen of eucalypts and melaleucas tens of kilometres in a single night, far further than any insect can.
Its urban camps in cities such as Cairns and Darwin cause conflict over noise and smell, but the species is indispensable to the regeneration of the forests of northern Australia.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Mangroves, eucalypt woodland, rainforest and urban trees of northern and eastern Australia
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 6 months
Litter / clutch size: 1.2 (average)

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteropus_alecto