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Recent roosting of little red flying-foxes (Pteropus scapulatus, Pteropodidae) at two sites in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia

Matthew Mo , Kylie Coutts-McClelland, Trista Kyriacou, Janine Davies, Gerardine Hawkins, Samara Wehmeyer, Lorraine Oliver, Samantha Yabsley, Jessica Meade, Justin Welbergen

Abstract

We report observations of temporary colonies of little red flying-foxes (Pteropus scapulatus) occurring at two roost sites on the South Coast of New South Wales, a region in which roosting by this species is rarely observed. The colonies persisted at these locations for at least 25 days during February and March 2024 and consisted of fluctuating numbers of little red flying-foxes, up to 27,000 individuals during an inspection at one site. Concurrent inspections of 40 of the 61 other known flying-fox roosts in the South Coast and adjacent Illawarra regions confirmed little red flying-foxes were not present at those sites. However, the species was concurrently present in three grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) roosts in Sydney, ~110–125 km away, and one roost in the lower Hunter region, ~215 km away. We also report on two earlier instances of little red flying-foxes at roost sites in the South Coast region.

AM24047  Accepted 16 June 2025

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