Flying Foxes by junge1
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Description
Flying Foxes or Fruit Bats are the largest bats in the world. They range from Madagascar to Indonesia and Australia including the Indian Subcontinent.
There are about 65 species some of which may reach a length of up to 40cm (16 in) and a wingspan of 1.5m ( ~5-ft) or larger. They weigh between 1.4 to 2.4lb and some have been found to weigh as much as 3.2lb.
They usually roost in large trees and occur in rain forests, mangroves, paperbark and eucalyptus forests.
These mega bats are frugivorous or nectarivorous, i.e. they eat fruit or lick nectar from flowers.
Fruit bats do not possess echolocation but rather navigate by sight and smell.
In Australia their range is primarily in Northeastern Queensland in the coastal rain forests. Because of their shrinking habitat they are protected by law.
Locals in Cairns do not like them because they are noisy, dirty (their droppings) and they spread disease.
This picture was taken on Lake Street about two blocks west of the Hides Hotel. As I was walking underneath the trees I became aware of a ruckus loud enough to make me look up. I had assumed birds were the cause of all the noise, but to my surprise I spotted these bats hanging in the trees. It was late enough in the afternoon and they soon started to take off. Their wing beat is that of a large bird and there seem to be an endless number of them.
A few days later, while sitting in an open air restaurant along the Brisbane River in Brisbane, they also made an appearance coming up the river.
This picture was taken on 15 December 2011,
Sig...
Comments (24)
Faemike55
Very cool capture Sig! I can see that a confluence of them could drive some people batty
West_coaster07
Nicely done Sig!!
kgb224
Superb capture my friend. God Bless.
mickeyrony
Many of these fears have very little critters ..... lol Very good pictures after my friend Richard who posts pictures pictures of a 45 crows kind lol .. ((5 + +)) Beaucoup ont très peurs de ces petites bestioles lol.....Très bonne photos mon ami Après Richard photos qui poste une photos de 45 corbeaux genre lol.. ((5++))
auntietk
I saw one, then three more, then two and those over there and ... and ... omg. The tree is covered! What an amazing sight!
bazza
Nice capture of these bats Sig. There is sure a lot of them in that tree!!
bmac62
What a sight. I agree with the locals of Cairns. But a most interesting post.
jayfar
Lovely shot. I wish England could bat as well as this!!
VEDES
Superb capture!!!!
renecyberdoc
very nice.just uploaded the coral keys this morning thanks again.
flaviok
Fascinante captura e texto meu amigo, aplausos (5)
nefertiabet
Wow, fliegende Hunde !!! Die habe ich auf Bali gesehen :-)
dakotabluemoon
Wow they are huge think i would run from them if coming at me great pic and info on this.
casmindo
WOW what a sight these bats are. Nice capture.
debbielove
Cool! Really really cool.. Must have been impressive to see them, thanks so much for posting Sig.. Keep it up lol Rob
adrie
Cool an interesting shot my friend.
junge1
To tell the truth. Not a pleasant thought. Imagine a bat with a 5-ft wingspan coming at you and making a sharp right (or left) turn at the last moment. Not something I would want to experience!
bobrgallegos
A very fascinating capture and narrative Sig!!!!
drifterlee
Wow! They look huge!!!!!
jophoto
Interesting shot. i would love to see them fly! They must be huge.
sandra46
VERY COOL
flavia49
outstanding image
danapommet
That is a lot of bats to be in one tree. Great shot and wonderful info.
bebert
impressionnant !!