Clive Crouch, Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times

Over the past few days, a group of Little Red Flying Foxes have been roosting in trees near Nhill Lake. Little Red Flying Foxes are widespread throughout eastern and northern Australia, and they sometimes venture further inland but rarely come this far west.

Two years ago, Little Red Flying Foxes were first recorded in Nhill, when a small number were seen roosting in a flowering gum tree near the IGA store, but this year they have arrived in greater numbers.

They are the smallest of the Australian Flying Fox species and they feed on blossom and thus are important pollinators of many flowering trees. Like all native wildlife they are a protected species and, unlike some other species of Flying Foxes, they are not a threat to fruit growers.

At night, when foraging, they can fly up to 80km. On hot nights when thirsty, they skim over water wetting the fur on their bellies then, when roosting, they can lick the water from their fur. 

This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 20 December 2023.