Nature Notes - Little Red Flying Fox

Features

The Little Red Flying Fox (Pteropus scapulatus) is a fruit bat with reddish-brown fur and a yellow mantle over the back of its neck. It is an important pollinators and seed distributor, mutually helping the plant in return for the food provided.

Adaptations

Little Red Fruit Bats are efficient climbers and can use their jointed thumbs as well as their feet to climb. They start to fly from their roosts at dusk, when they can be seen flying in orderly columns, streaming away on the look-out for food. When in flight, their wing membranes appear partially transparent.

Habitat

The Little Red Flying Fox is the most widely distributed of the fruit bats and can be found across Australia in habitats that range from coastal mangroves, to tropical rainforests and less commonly in the Australian Deserts.

Range

The Little Red Flying Fox is the only species of fruit bat found in the deserts of Australia as they are very adaptable to seasonal conditions.They occur in large numbers around the west, north and east coastal and sub-coastal regions of Australia.

Wild Status

Common

Diet

Little Red Flying Foxes eat both blossoms and fruit, but the shape of their teeth (dentition) suggest that blossoms make up a larger part of their diet compared to other fruit bats. In desert Australia they feed mainly on the nectar of Desert Bloodwood Trees, Tea Trees and River Red Gums along the Desert Rivers.

Predators

When at the roost, individuals pack close together, this makes it harder for aerial predators such as goshawks or eagles to pick them off. They are also vulnerable to pythons while roosting.

Home

Large colonies are often formed in treetop camps, usually on the edge of water holes and rivers. Large camps may contain several thousand noisy, bickering individuals (over 100,000 individuals have been estimated in some camps). As seasonal conditions change, the large groups break up as individuals become nomadic, searching for new food resources.

Size

Little Red Flying Foxes weigh 300-600 grams (snout to vent 19-24 cm).

Reproduction

During Oct-Nov, large camps are formed where mating occurs. Camps tend to disperse before birthing. Only one young is born per year, usually born in April or May (pregnancy lasting about 5 months). Young adults become sexually mature at about 18 months old.

Extra Fun Facts

One of the sounds made by the Little Red Flying Fox has been likened to the “yip” of a small dog, with calls ranging from high pitch twitters to loud screams.

Comparison

Compare with Lesser Long-nosed Bat of the Sonoran Desert