A large fruit bat that looks like a fox with wings. It has a dog-like face with big dark eyes, tall pointed ears, and a warm golden or reddish collar of fur around its neck, while the rest of its body is covered in dark brown to black fur. Its wings are long and leathery, stretching over a metre from tip to tip on a big adult, and when it glides across the evening sky, it really does look like a flying shadow. Instead of using sound to hunt insects like many smaller bats, this species relies on its sharp eyes and nose to find ripe fruit and blossoms in the treetops at night.
What makes the Pacific flying fox especially interesting is where it lives and the role it plays in the forest. It is the most widespread flying fox in the Pacific islands, found in places like Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands and parts of Papua New Guinea. During the day, these bats hang upside down in large groups high in the branches, often in coastal trees or along cliffs, wrapping their wings around themselves like cloaks.
At sunset, hundreds of them may take off at once and stream across the sky to feeding areas. They eat a mix of fruit, nectar and pollen, and as they fly from tree to tree, they drop seeds in their droppings and carry pollen on their fur. This makes them one of the most important seed-spreaders and pollinators in many island forests, helping new trees grow and keeping whole ecosystems healthy.
Distribution
American Samoa
Cook Islands
Fiji
New Caledonia
Niue
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Vanuatu
Wallis & FutunaAnything we've missed?
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Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Colony
Diet: Carnivore / Frugivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
