Flying Foxes : Fruit and Blossom Bats of Australia

This book is the first illustrated guide dedicated to Australia's 13 species of Megachiroptera--the mega bats. These animals don't fit everyone's image of a bat: while they are nocturnal, they live in forests rather than caves, they navigate by sight rather than echolocation, and their long snouts and large ears and eyes give them a canine-like appearance (hence the description of flying foxes). Perhaps because of their appearance, as well as their intelligence, flying foxes are regarded with much affection in Australia and are sometimes kept as family pets. Among the wide range of issues Flying Foxes discusses are such contentious matters as the management of flying fox populations and the recent incidents of viral diseases jumping from flying foxes to humans. The book contains outstanding line drawings by Louise Saunders and 29 superb color photographs, including many by acclaimed wildlife photographer, Theo Allofs.