I’m out and about, so enjoy this photo of a young flying fox, rescued in a sanctuary, from Hi! Homer. The notes:
Meet Jeddah, a Grey-Headed Flying Fox currently being hand-raised by the Homer’s Heroes at Sydney Wildlife. Jeddah was rescued with injuries so severe he couldn’t survive on his own. But, as this video clearly shows (just look at those blissful eyes!), Jeddah is flourishing under the care of his loving human foster mom. While Jeddah’s injuries will prevent his being re-released into the wild, these days he serves as an education animal at Sydney Wildlife–which suits him just fine. As his foster mom (a licensed and vaccinated bat carer) writes, “[Jeddah] actively solicits attention and cuddles. If I put him down, he comes over and demands more.” And who could blame him?
The species, Pteropus poliocephalus, is native to Australia (it’s the largest bat on the continent), and is called a “megabat”. Do remember that this is a “bat”, for it, like other bats, is in the order Chiroptera, but flying foxes (also known as “fruit bats”) are in the family Pteropodidae, while all other bats fall into about a dozen other families. But all bats, including these, are thought to be monophyletic: that is, they all evolved from a common ancestor.
But I digress. Enjoy the cuteness.
Here’s its distribution:
That is awesome. I don’t know what else to say…
Say nothing…a bit of a squeak would do.
Jeddah should be nominated for honorary cat status, he’s adorable!
That’s why some megachiroptera are also called flying foxes 😉
I was wondering if those are the bits we can hear of echolocation, but this species doesn’t [Wiki says]. I reckon he needs batty friends, they’re gregarious creatures.
This little guy has been through such a lot and he has now found a bit of happiness
Cute!
This bat video is heart-warming.
I just love the many animal photos with comments and videos shown on WEIT that I would never see otherwise.
Very sweet – best wishes to him.
I had never heard of this megabat. “Adults may have a wingspan reaching one metre in length and be up to one kilogram in weight.” – Wow!
That is precious. What a sweetie. Love his nostrils.
That nose is a real schnozzola, as Jimmy Durante would say.
Jeddah looks to be capable of competing with cats for comfort sponge capacity.
I loved seeing these cute things when I stayed in Cairns. They’d hang from the trees in the day, then fly around at night.
Adorable!
I have a weird relationship with bats. They’re so cute…until their wings come out and I think, “I thought you were an adorable little puppy but you’re a freaking vampire.” But how could I not love this little guy?
Petting a bat in Australia would be like petting a rabid dog in the USA.
Two good reasons never to pet a bat in Australia
1. Lyssa virus
2. Hendra virus
Both viruses can cause death in humans.
I was advised by a wildlife-rescue service never even to handle micro-bat after ‘rescuing’ a micro-bat that was merely in a state of extreme torpor induced by low temperature in mid-winter.
Hendra virus deaths
The death of a child from lyssa virus.
Also a reason to avoid horses, going by that link. 😉
cr
One night a couple yrs ago a conventional bat got into Schwixon – I think they roost under the porch. Conveniently, my predecessor* was a butterfly collector and had left behind several butterfly nets, so it wasn’t hard to capture it. When I took it out on the porch and unfolded the net, it let out a little squee just before flying off.
*Uncannily, his real name was Bruce Wayne Dixon.
Bruce Wayne Dixon. 😎