Flying foxes, also known as fruit bats, are large mammals that primarily consume plant-based foods. Unlike their smaller, insect-eating relatives, their diet classifies them as frugivores (fruit-eaters) and nectarivores (nectar-eaters).
Fruits, Nectar, and Pollen: The Core Diet
Flying foxes primarily consume fruits, nectar, and pollen. They prefer ripe, soft, and juicy fruits, including native rainforest varieties like figs and lilly pillies, and cultivated fruits such as mangoes, bananas, and guavas. They also eat flowers and sometimes leaves from over 100 species of native trees and vines.
Nectar is a significant food source, especially from flowering trees like eucalypts, melaleucas, and banksias. These plants often produce nectar and pollen at night, aligning with the nocturnal feeding patterns of flying foxes. While feeding on nectar, flying foxes also ingest pollen, which provides essential protein to supplement the sugar-rich fruit and nectar. Some species, like the little red flying fox, feed almost exclusively on nectar.
Seasonal Variations and Other Food Sources
The diet of flying foxes adapts to seasonal changes in food availability. They are nomadic animals, moving between locations to find food and often traveling hundreds of kilometers to find prolific flowering or fruiting events. For instance, the little red flying fox is highly nomadic and moves its camp every one to two months to feed on new patches of flowering trees.
When preferred native fruits and nectar are scarce, flying foxes can become opportunistic feeders. They may consume less common items such as leaves, bark, or even insects. While fruit and nectar are preferred, they will forage on introduced plants found in gardens and orchards, especially when native food sources are limited. This can sometimes lead to conflicts with human agriculture.
How Flying Foxes Eat and Their Ecological Contribution
Flying foxes have specific feeding mechanisms. When consuming fruit, they crush it against the roof of their mouth with their tongue, extracting the juice and spitting out the fibrous pulp in “ejecta pellets.” This method allows them to quickly process large quantities of fruit while keeping their body weight minimal for flight. For nectar, they use their long tongues to lap it from flowers; some species have specialized tongues with brush-like tips for more efficient extraction.
Their feeding habits contribute significantly to forest ecosystems. As they travel between feeding sites, pollen sticks to their fur, which they then transfer to other flowers, making them effective pollinators for over 50 native tree species. Many eucalypt species, for example, heavily rely on flying foxes for pollination. Additionally, by consuming fruits and dispersing seeds through their droppings or by carrying and dropping fruit, flying foxes aid in seed dispersal. This process promotes forest regeneration and maintains genetic diversity across wide areas, with seeds sometimes dispersed up to 20 kilometers from the parent tree.