Pictures and facts about the Gray-headed flying fox

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Gray-headed flying fox

Order : Chiroptera
Family : Pteropodidae
Subfamily : Pteropodinae
Species : Pteropus poliocephalus

The Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) can be found on the south-eastern part of Australia. In 2001 a study shows that their range has shifted 750 kilometers southwards, possibly due to climate change. Their habitat consists of woodlands, rainforests, and swamps. Their diet consists of pollen, nectar and fruit and they are an important pollinator and seed-disperser of the native trees.

Adult males have a maximum wingspan of over 1 meter and they can weigh up to 1 kg. During the day the Grey headed flying fox can be found together with small groups to tens of thousands of bats at large 'roosts' (camps or colonies).

The total population is about 300,000 and it has been suggested that they have declined in numbers as much as 30% in the last decade alone. Recent research has shown that since 1994, more than 24,500 grey-headed flying foxes have died from extreme heat events alone.

The main threats of the Grey headed flying fox are

• habitat destruction due to the building of houses and the clearing for agriculture.


• disturbance of roosting sites


• Unregulated shooting


• Electrocution on power lines


• Competition and hybridisation with the Black Flying-fox (Pteropus alecto)


• Extreme heat events

Interesting fact The Grey-headed flying fox can become very old for a mammal of its size. Reports show individuals surviving in captivity for up to 23 years, and a maximum age of up to 15 years in the wild.

Picture of the grey-headed flying fox by benjamint444 licensed under GFDL

Facts about the gray-headed flying fox

Classified as Vulnerable nationally, the Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus is the focus of an exciting urban wildlife management program in Melbourne.

The Gray-headed flying fox is particularly important because it is one of the few species that pollinates the flowers and spreads the seeds of these rainforest species.

Tidemann Abstract Pteropus poliocephalus is endemic to coastal eastern Australia (20-28oS), where infrequent, but extreme droughts and floods, commonly across large parts of the range, cause major swings in the availability of forage - primarily eucalypt blossom, supplemented with fruits and leaves. (Full text)

Courtesy Queensland Flying-fox Consultative Committee The Grey-headed Flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) is the largest member of the family, its wingspan can reach one metre and it can weigh up to one kilogram. (Full text)

Pteropus poliocephalus is endemic to coastal eastern Australia (20-28°S), where infrequent, but extreme droughts and floods, commonly across large parts of (Full text)

In view of the above points, the Scientific Committee is of the opinion that the Grey-headed Flying-fox, Pteropus poliocephalus, is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances and factors threatening its survival or evolutionary development cease to operate, and is therefore eligible for listing as a Vulnerable species. (Full text)