A colony of Spectacled Flying Foxes leave the forest at dusk.

Spectacled Flying Fox

Management of the Spectacled Flying Fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) is one of the most contentious natural resource issues in the Wet Tropics. Like other flying foxes, P. conspicillatus is highly mobile and lives at a large spatial scale, crossing mountains, rivers and habitat boundaries.

• 24 December 2009 | Updated 14 October 2011

Introduction

Management of P. conspicillatus is complex.

In May 2002, the species was classed as Vulnerable under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 due to threats such as habitat loss and persecution, as well on the basis of detrimental impact upon the Wet Tropics world heritage landscape if the species were to be further reduced, or lost entirely.

However, the species is also perceived by many to be a nuisance in urban areas and is considered a pest in orchards.

The overall objective of this project is to support the development of management solutions that are effective for both conserving the species and for sustaining a viable economic fruit growing industry.

To achieve this, the project team will work closely with its stakeholder groups.

Spectacled Flying Fox camp in dry sclerophyll forest near Mareeba.

Solutions cannot be achieved without:

• improving our knowledge of the ecology and behaviour of the Spectacled Flying Fox
• understanding damage caused by the species, mitigation measures and current monitoring strategies in orchards 
• improving avenues for accessing information, while encouraging discussion and negotiation of management and conservation strategies.