Grey-headed Fruit Bats

Fruit bats (also known as flying foxes) commonly roost in urban gardens in south-east Queensland, as their wild habitat diminishes. They are not always welcome, as there is a fear of them being a vector for disease, they help themselves to people's fruit on their trees, they smell and they are noisy. Attempts to move them on are usually futile, and borderline illegal. However they are protected by law and many wildlife professionals and enthusiasts are working hard to educate the public to learn how to live with them rather than in conflict with them and improve the fruit bat's image. The little group in this photo are Grey-headed Fruit Bat Pteropus poliocephalus, and I've blogged about the species before. There is a very famous colony in the Sydney Botanical Gardens, a stone's throw from the iconic Opera House.

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