Grey-headed Flying Fox - Conservation

Conservation

The grey-headed flying fox is now a prominent federal conservation problem in Australia. Early last century the species was considered abundant, with numbers estimated in the many millions. However, in recent years, direct evidence has been accumulating that the species is in serious decline. Current estimates for the species are about 300,000 and it has been suggested that the national population may have declined by over 30% between 1989 and 1999 alone.

Grey-headed flying foxes are exposed to several threatening processes, including loss of foraging and roosting habitat, competition with the black flying fox, and mass die-offs caused by extreme temperature events. When present in urban environments, grey-headed flying foxes are sometimes perceived as a nuisance. Cultivated orchard fruits are also taken, but apparently only at times when other food items are scarce. Because the roosting and foraging habits of the grey-headed flying fox bring the species into conflict with humans, the species suffers from direct killing of animals in orchards and harassment and destruction of roosts. Negative public perception of the species has intensified with the discovery of three recently emerged zoonotic viruses that are potentially fatal to humans: Hendra virus, Australian bat lyssavirus and Menangle virus. However, only Australian bat lyssavirus is known from two isolated cases to be directly transmissible from bats to humans.

Recent research has shown that since 1994, more than 24,500 grey-headed flying foxes have died from extreme heat events alone. This is of increasing concern for the survival of this species now that climate models predict significant increases in the intensity, duration and frequency of such temperature extremes.

To answer some of the growing threats, roost sites have been legally protected since 1986 in New South Wales and since 1994 in Queensland. In 1999 the species was classified as "Vulnerable to extinction" in The Action Plan for Australian Bats, and has since been protected across its range under Australian federal law. As of 2008 the species is listed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.