One-quarter of the world’s mammals are bats, and they range everywhere on the planet except the arctic regions. The fossil record shows theirs is a pretty old group that first evolved at least 35 million years ago.

The Biggest Have 5.3 Foot Wingspans.
The giant golden-crowned flying fox, weighs in at just under 2.5 pounds—about as much as a small pineapple.

Designed to spend half their life upside down bats have a tendon in their legs with a ratchet-like locking mechanism. This means they don’t have to expend energy and they can just hang there. For them taking flight is as simple as unlocking and dropping.

They live in a community. Colonies Can Be 200,000 Bats Strong. Come naptime, flying foxes roost in trees, where they form noisy clusters known as camps. When one bat grows restless, he or she will often abandon the clique and fly several miles away in search of new friends to hang with.

But depleted flying fox populations all over the world have made these camps way less impressive than they used to be. As recently as 1930, naturalists happened upon bunches that were boasted a whopping 30 million bats!

They use various calls as a form of communication, tending to make the most noise at dawn and dusk, when flying out to feed at night or returning to camp trees to sleep during the day.

They Can’t Echolocate. Many bats are famous for their ability to emit high-frequency sounds that act as a natural sonar, helping them stalk tasty insects in midair.

Flying foxes, on the other hand, lack this talent. Since fruits are stationary, they don’t need it. Instead, the critters use a combination of keen eyesight and a sharp olfactory sense to find breakfast.

They are vegetarians that forage on the fruit of over 50 rainforest trees and vines. Their excellent vision and keen sense of smell helps them navigate their way over vast landscapes.

The pollen sticks to their fur while they’re feeding on the nectar of flowers, and then as they fly off, they are able to pollinate many trees over long distances.

The seeds contained in the faeces fall and germinate in new areas where they grow into new trees.

Each flying-fox can spread up to 60,000 seeds across a 50 kilometre stretch of land in one night.

Contrary to what you may have heard, flying-foxes are very clean animals that are constantly grooming and cleaning themselves. However, they also communicate by scent. Odours are used to identify camp trees, each other, and also to attract mates. Mothers are able to locate their pups in crèche trees by their scent and calls.

Flying foxes use their wings as air-conditioning.
A flying-fox’s wings are not only for sustained flight– they also work as a fan.

On hot days, a whole colony of 20,000 flying foxes can be seen fluttering their wings to cool their bodies. When that doesn’t work, flying foxes will seek shade and then lick themselves all over to cool their bodies.

Flying foxes have been seen skimming rivers, creeks or lakes to get their bellies wet, then lick the water off their fur during hot days to cool down.

Still, above a certain point, extreme temperatures will kill them.

They are good swimmers. It seems strange, but flying foxes are good swimmers.If they accidentally land in water, they will swim to the bank or to a tree, and climb until they gain sufficient height to take off. Flying foxes can’t take off only from flat ground – they need to gain some height before they can use the wind under their wings to take off. This may be the reason they learned how to swim.

Flying Foxes Mate Upside Down.
If you’re going to copulate while dangling from a branch, make sure to mind your footing. Before the deed begins, a female will steady herself by grasping her partner’s ankles with her feet. Meanwhile, the male’s penis might be one-fourth of his total body length. This helps keep it from slipping out mid-coitus, given the delicate logistics involved.

Mothers Carry Their Babies While Airborne. A newborn won’t be able to fly on its own for several months. And because these mammals travel from camp to camp in pursuit of food, its mother won't build any permanent nests. Instead, she’ll spend several weeks with her baby bat clinging to her belly; as it grows more independent, mom-bat leaves it behind at night while feeding. Babies are usually born in October and are ready to take off for good by March or April.

Flying-fox numbers have decreased dramatically over the last 50 years due to a continual loss of habitat and changing climatic patterns. Grey-headed flying-foxes are now listed as vulnerable to extinction. Urban encroachment, land clearing, agriculture and drought have led to flying-foxes seeking alternative habitat such as patches of bushland in urban areas in which to roost and forage. This has brought them increasingly into conflict with their human neighbours. So now, more than ever, we need to find ways to co-exist with this incredibly important native species.

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