Lifespan
15 years in the wild
Up to 30 years under human care
Wildlife Reserves Singapore Group
Lifespan
Up to 30 years under human care
Diet
Flowers and fruit.
Habitat
Primary and secondary forests and swamps.
Range
Much of continental and Southeast Asia.
Flying foxes are threatened by over-hunting and deforestation. They are hunted as exotic meat and also consumed as a traditional cure for asthma. Previously, it was thought that flying foxes eat up the flowers of the durian tree and many orchard owners set up nets to trap them. Studies using camera traps have confirmed that these bats are probably the most effective pollinators for durian trees. Pollen sticks to their fur as they feed on the nectar, and is transferred when they move off to feed on the flowers of another tree. If flying foxes were to go extinct one day, so might durians. That alone is reason enough to conserve them.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.
At relatively low risk of extinction
Likely to become vulnerable in the near future
At high risk of extinction in the wild
At very high risk of extinction in the wild
At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
Survives only in captivity
No surviving individuals in the wild or in captivity
