|
|
|
|
|
Flying Foxes |
| We house The Grey-headed Flying Foxes at Fauna Australia. These are the biggest bat species found in Australia. They are closely related to the primate family, and are extremely intelligent. They are active mainly at night, but they do come out in the daytime to bask in the sun. They have a very fast metabolism, and food (fruit) passes through their digestive tract in 20 minutes. They have cheek pouches where the store the pith and left over fruit whilst they swallow the fruit juice. They then spit out what they don't want. The only time they turn up and hang by their fingers is to go to the toilet so as to not soil themselves. They don't get light headed as we would when hanging by their feet, as their veins work in the opposite to humans. They are placental mammals, and after a gestation of 6 months, they give birth to a single young which they need to catch in their wings. The young is independent at 4 months. |
|
|
|
© Fauna Australia Wildlife Retreat 2009 |
|
|
