Flying foxes starving en masse across NSW and Victoria
Grey-headed flying foxes are starving in record numbers across NSW and Victoria due to habitat loss and poor winter flowering.
Wildlife rescuers across NSW and Victoria are facing a surge in starving flying foxes. One NSW rescue organisation now gets 50 to 90 calls daily, more than the total from the previous nine months.
Grey-headed flying foxes, listed as vulnerable under federal law, normally feed on native tree blossoms and nectar. Food shortages stem from habitat loss and a dry winter with poor flowering of eucalypts and other natives.
Bats are so weak they crawl on the ground eating fallen unripe fruit and cannot fly back to their camps, staying in back yards instead. Many malnourished female flying foxes in the final month of pregnancy are losing their young as they lack nutritional strength to carry to full term or produce milk.
- 50 to 90
- Calls per day to Fawna
- Fewer than current daily calls
- Previous nine months total calls
- Vulnerable under federal environment laws
- Conservation status
- One pup per female per year
- Annual breeding rate
Why it mattersMass wildlife die-offs signal ecosystem breakdown and predict wider impacts. Vulnerable species loss reduces biodiversity and natural pest control.
AustraliaEastern Australia's flying fox population is crashing amid habitat loss and climate stress, threatening their recovery as a vulnerable species across the country.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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