Spectacled flying fox

<h2 id="description">Description</h2>

<p>The head and body length is 22–25 cm, forearm 16–18 cm, weight 400–1000 g. A large spectacled <a href="/facts/Flying_fox/T3wWvapc">flying fox</a> has pale yellow or straw-colored fur around its eyes. The mantle is pale yellow and goes across the back, neck, and shoulders. Some have pale yellow fur on the face and top of the head.
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<h2 id="habitat">Habitat</h2>
<p>Spectacled flying foxes are forest dwellers and rainforests are their preferred habitat. They prefer to roost in the middle and upper canopy strata in the full sun. Colonies of the spectacled flying fox can be found in <a href="/facts/Rain_forest/IEY5TMEc">rain forests</a>, <a href="/facts/Mangrove/JreUUsuG">mangroves</a>, and <a href="/facts/Paperbark/ACg16LsN">paperbark</a> and <a href="/facts/Eucalypt/rQaRDI6c">eucalypt</a> forests.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> There is evidence of increasing <a href="/facts/Urban_wildlife/9wQGf7cM">urbanisation</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h2 id="diet">Diet</h2>
<p>The spectacled flying fox's natural diet is rainforest fruits, riparian zone flowers, and flowers from Myrtaceae (primarily <i><a href="/facts/Eucalyptus/Y0BjE3KQ">Eucalyptus</a></i> and <i><a href="/facts/Syzygium/3DSdHKtz">Syzygium</a></i> species) and fruits from the Moraceae (figs) and <a href="/facts/Myrtaceae/s1QMCFTj">Myrtaceae</a> (primarily<i> Syzygium</i>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a>
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<h2 id="life-cycle">Life cycle</h2>
<p>Spectacled flying foxes have one pup annually. Females are capable of breeding at one year of age.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> Males probably do not breed until three to four years of age. They are polygamous (similar to the <a href="/facts/Grey-headed_flying_fox/CxvY1Iro">grey-headed flying fox</a>, <i>Pteropus poliocephalus</i>). Female to male ratio may be as high as 2:1.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> Conception occurs April to May. Sexual activity is continuous from about January to June. Females give birth to one young per year in October to December. Juveniles are nursed for over five months, and on weaning, congregate in nursery trees in the colony. The juveniles fly out for increasing distances with the colony at night and are 'parked' in nursery trees, often kilometres distant from the colony, and are brought back to the colony in the morning.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a>
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<h2 id="life-expectancy">Life expectancy</h2>
<p>Spectacled flying foxes typically live to be around 12 to 15 years old, but in captivity can exceed 30 years of age. Natural causes of mortality include predation mainly by <a href="/facts/Rufous_owl/qNAU5lLL">rufous owls</a>, <a href="/facts/Freshwater_crocodile/lcA3aXxR">Freshwater crocodiles</a>, and <a href="/facts/Olive_python/Kgs7v9sv">olive pythons</a>, death by paralysis tick when bats climb low to the ground to feed, and the death of babies that are born too early when either something goes wrong in the fetus' development, or the mother suffers from prolonged stress. Flying foxes are also frequently killed in human-related incidents such as landing on power lines, and getting entangled in nets or barbed wire.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> Most wild flying foxes are assumed to live much shorter lives.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a>
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<h2 id="conservancy">Conservancy</h2>
<p>In 2012, the <a href="/facts/Government_of_Queensland/zk1aH1XD">Queensland Government</a> reintroduced the issuing of permits which allows farmers and fruit-growers (with permits)to kill limited numbers of flying foxes in order to protect crops.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> The shooting of bats had been banned by the previous Qld Labor government after advice from the Qld Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AWAC) that the practice was inhumane.
</p><p>In February 2019, the <a href="/facts/Department_of_the_Environment_and_Energy/EKXdt1Rv">Australian Department of the Environment and Energy</a> announced that the national status of the spectacled flying fox was going to be revised from vulnerable to endangered. This was in response to heat waves in the 2018-19 summer that resulted in <a href="/facts/Australian_flying_fox_die-offs/WUHvHMy1">mass die-offs</a> of the species, resulting in the deaths of over 20,000 individuals. It is estimated that a third of its total population was lost during the extreme heat waves. <a href="/facts/Humane_Society_International/H2jfohhT">Humane Society International</a> had nominated the species for an endangered listing some years earlier.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a>
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<h2 id="gallery">Gallery</h2>

<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>
<ul><li>Birt, P., Markus, N., Collins, L. & Hall, L. (1998) Nature Australia, Spring, pp. 55–59.</li>
<li>Churchill, Sue. (1998) <i>Australian Bats</i>. Sydney: Reed New Holland, pp. 84–85.</li>
<li>Hall, L. (1983) "Spectacled Flying Fox." In Ronald Strahan (ed.). <i>The Mammals of Australia,</i> Reed Books, Chatswood, p. 282.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pteropus conspicillatus.

<ul><li><a href="http://www.tolgabathospital.org/">Tolga Bat Hospital, Australia</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.dontshootbats.com">Don't Shoot Bats ~ Flying fox protection campaign</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/tagsViewSingle.php?id=16641">Nighttime audio recording of a colony of Spectacled Fruit Bats at Freesound</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=185#feeding">Australian Government Threatened Species database</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Spectacled Flying-fox". Australian Museum. 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2013. <a href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/Spectacled-Flying-fox" target="_blank">http://australianmuseum.net.au/Spectacled-Flying-fox</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Roberts, B.; Eby, P.; Westcott, D. (2020). "Pteropus conspicillatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T18721A22080456. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T18721A22080456.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021. <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18721/22080456" target="_blank">https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18721/22080456</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Cox, Lisa (19 February 2019). "Spectacled flying fox declared endangered after Queensland heatwave wipeout". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2019. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/19/spectacled-flying-fox-declared-endangered-after-queensland-heatwave-wipeout" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/19/spectacled-flying-fox-declared-endangered-after-queensland-heatwave-wipeout</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>"Spectacled Flying-fox". Australian Museum. 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2013. <a href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/Spectacled-Flying-fox" target="_blank">http://australianmuseum.net.au/Spectacled-Flying-fox</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Tait, Jessica; Perotto-Baldivieso, Humberto L.; McKeown, Adam; Westcott, David A. (2014). "Are Flying-Foxes Coming to Town? Urbanisation of the Spectacled Flying-Fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) in Australia". PLOS ONE. 9 (10): e109810. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9j9810T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109810. PMC 4190360. PMID 25295724. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4190360" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4190360</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Australian Museum Business Services (2004). The Provision of Data for Draft National Fauna Survey Standards: Bats Draft Report to the Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>Richards, G.C. (1987). "Aspects of the Ecology of Spectacled Flying-foxes, Pteropus conspicillatus (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in Tropical Queensland". Australian Mammalogy. 10 (2): 87–88. doi:10.1071/AM87017. S2CID 254712384. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>Garnett, S.T.; Whybird, O.A.; Spencer, H.G. (1999). "Conservation status of the Spectacled Flying-fox Pteropus conspicillatus". Australian Zoologist. 31: 38–54. doi:10.7882/az.1999.006. <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/8204781" target="_blank">https://zenodo.org/record/8204781</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:9"><p>Garnett, S.T.; Whybird, O.A.; Spencer, H.G. (1999). "Conservation status of the Spectacled Flying-fox Pteropus conspicillatus". Australian Zoologist. 31: 38–54. doi:10.7882/az.1999.006. <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/8204781" target="_blank">https://zenodo.org/record/8204781</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:10"><p>Richards, GC & Spencer, HJ (1998). "Spectacled Flying-fox, Pteropus conspicillatus (Gould, 1850)". In: Strahan, R, ed. The Mammals of Australia. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:11"><p>Hall, L.S. (1995). "Bare-backed Fruit-bat Dobsonia moluccensis", pp. 430–431 in Strahan, R, ed. The Mammals of Australia. Chatswood, NSW: Reed Books. <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:12"><p>Flannery, T.F. (1995). The mammals of New Guinea. Revised and updated edition. Chatswood, N.S.W: Reed Books <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:13"><p>Garnett, S.T.; Whybird, O.A.; Spencer, H.G. (1999). "Conservation status of the Spectacled Flying-fox Pteropus conspicillatus". Australian Zoologist. 31: 38–54. doi:10.7882/az.1999.006. <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/8204781" target="_blank">https://zenodo.org/record/8204781</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:14"><p>Michael, Peter (16 December 2012). "Queensland farmers approved for lethal Damage Mitigation Permits to shoot and kill flying foxes". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. Retrieved 3 September 2017. <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-farmers-approved-for-lethal-damage-mitigation-permits-to-shoot-and-kill-flying-foxes/news-story/be5c40b364cef3b28a47b5663a6c5b68" target="_blank">http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-farmers-approved-for-lethal-damage-mitigation-permits-to-shoot-and-kill-flying-foxes/news-story/be5c40b364cef3b28a47b5663a6c5b68</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:15"><p>"Damage mitigation permits for crop protection". Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. Queensland Government. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017. <a href="http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/livingwith/flyingfoxes/damage-mitigation-permits.html" target="_blank">http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/livingwith/flyingfoxes/damage-mitigation-permits.html</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:16"><p>Cox, Lisa (19 February 2019). "Spectacled flying fox declared endangered after Queensland heatwave wipeout". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2019. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/19/spectacled-flying-fox-declared-endangered-after-queensland-heatwave-wipeout" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/19/spectacled-flying-fox-declared-endangered-after-queensland-heatwave-wipeout</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:17"><p>"23,000 dead: HSI calls for urgent spectacled flying-fox endangered listing". Humane Society International. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2021. <a href="https://hsi.org.au/newsroom/23000-dead-hsi-calls-for-urgent-spectacled-flying-fox-endangered-listing" target="_blank">https://hsi.org.au/newsroom/23000-dead-hsi-calls-for-urgent-spectacled-flying-fox-endangered-listing</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Spectacled flying fox open-in-new

Spectacled flying fox