Gray-headed flying-fox population is stable—10 years of monitoring reveals this threatened species is doing well

Flying foxes, or fruit bats, are familiar to many Australians. So it may come as a surprise to learn two of the four mainland species, both gray-headed and spectacled flying foxes, are threatened with extinction.

But our decade-long survey of one of these species—the gray-headed flying fox —brings some encouraging news. Our data show the population has been relatively stable since 2012, when surveys first began under the National Flying-fox Monitoring Program . Incredibly, the species emerged from the Black Summer of 2019–20 relatively unscathed. Flying foxes also suffer in heat waves and many die, but overall numbers have remained stable.

While this study is good news for the species, we must not become complacent. Heat waves are expected to become more frequent and intense as the climate changes. Only further monitoring can determine its effects. Hanging out with flying foxes The gray-headed flying fox ( Pteropus poliocephalus ) is common in most cities and towns across south-eastern Australia. More recently, colonies have become established in South Australia .

Grey-headed flying foxes sleep and socialise during the day but are often well aware of approaching humans. Credit: Adam McKeown, CSIRO Read more

More than 150,000 grey-headed flying foxes roosted in Gympie, Queensland, after much of their habitat burned during the Black Summer of 2019-20. Credit: Eric Vanderduys, CSIRO Read more

This young grey-headed flying fox is big enough to count. Credit: Eric Vanderduys, CSIRO Read more