EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Black Fox in the Trees

Black Flying Fox (Pteropus alecto), Family Pteropodidae
Northern Territory, Australia

Explanation:  During a hike into Litchfield National Park in the tropical "Top End" portion of Northern Territory, Australia, my mates and I encountered a colony of black flying foxes.  Yes, they are as black as night, and yes belong to the only order of mammals capable of true independent flight (order Chiroptera) ... and although they have muzzles like a fox, they are indeed bats. 

The genus Pteropus contains some of the largest bats in the world.  The black flying fox is not threatened, and is secure within parks and preserves, although some related species are being hunted to local extinction, particularly in southeast Asia.  

Flying foxes are largely frugivores, eating fruits of trees, and may fly far -- up to 31 miles (50 km) from its roose site -- in search of this ever-changing resource.  Thus, they also serve as key dispersal agents of tree seeds, which pass through their bodies and become distributed throughout the forest.  They also act as key pollinators of tropical plants, and thereby provide a dual ecological service.  
  

   
Like other bats, Black Flying Foxes often roost at daytime
using their wings as a blanket for warmth and as a shield from daylight.

However, recent controversy has emerged as the local government has overturned a ban on killing flying foxes to prevent their raiding of agricultural crops.