Thanks Robin. Your updates on these are always interesting. Perhaps we shall again see some FFs in Cth Park in mid-winter.
While simplifications are always attractive, I think they are probably here from a combination of push (deforestation, other displacement) and pull (food, climatic?) factors.
The ‘giant bats’ of Madang are now a full-blown tourist attraction. I’m sure there were only the odd few around there when you and I first knew the place more than 40 years ago. Incidentally Tim Flannery seems to have thought the Madang horde were the ‘Greater’ FF P neohibernicus (Mammals of NG 1990) but corrected this in the second ed by substituting a reference to the ‘Spectacled’ FF P conspicillatus (1995). I notice that the Madang tourist website has converted this to the ‘Speckled Flying Fox’. This is the species causing some controversy in North Queensland (a tropical question). Flannery, conservative scientist that he is, said you could hear the Madang roost from a HALF kilometre away.
From: Robin Hide [
Sent: Friday, 11 March 2011 8:52 AM
To: Geoffrey Dabb
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Topical question
Geoffrey,
Last night at 8pm walking back from the Ainslie shops to Corroboree Park (i.e. towards Civic), there was a steady stream of fruit bats flying over me (and Ainslie) in a Watson/Hackett direction.
First noticed this after a recent fireworks display when I assumed they were just putting distance between themselves and the lights and bangs, but this, I think, is now part of their usual evening dispersal flights for food from the Commonwealth Park roost.
Reminded me of evenings in and near the large coastal bat roost in Madang.
And walking round CP yesterday, interesting to see how the numbers have swelled dramatically again - you can hear them from a km away.
Robin
