Colony sites of reasonable size don't suffer from defoliation, as the bats roost in a different part of the site each season, allowing regeneration of foliage to occur. They gravitate towards foliated trees for both protection from predators and for shade from hot sun while sleeping during the day. MYTH Flying foxes are pests FACT Flying foxes preferred diet is nectar from eucalypt blossoms and other native species. This means that native forests will not regenerate without flying foxes. The flying fox has a very similar brain development as the lemur, and there is much evidence to suggest that it is a primate.
Human beings are primates.
Flying foxes may well be our closest native relative. Not a single bat was found to be carrying lyssavirus. Their bodies were also tested for the hendra and menangle viruses, but all tested negative. FACT Female flying foxes do not start reproducing until 2-3 years of age, and have only one baby per year. Numbers of bats in the gardens fluctuate, as these animals are migratory, moving around in accordance with food supply.