Four species of Australian bats, both megabats and microbats, are found in the Parklands. Microbats are the small, commonly insectivorous bats that use echolocation — a sonar hearing system to detect and capture their prey. Megabats, including the grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), use their good eyesight and keen sense of smell to locate their food.

Three species of microbats, including Gould’s wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii) and the eastern little mastiff bat (Mormopterus norfolkensis), also live in the Parkland’s trees.

The microbats are nocturnal, emerging after sunset to feed on insects. These bats are tiny, measuring between 35 - 50 mm.

Large numbers of grey-headed flying foxes - also known as fruit bats - fly into the Parklands each night from a camp in Sydney’s northern suburbs to feed on nectar, blossoms and the fruit of the fig, paperbark and gum trees.

Visitors are often apprehensive about fruit bats because of their large numbers and shrieking calls. Human contact with fruit bats has been linked with the transmission of lyssavirus to humans. This disease can only be transmitted through being scratched or bitten. It is for this reason it is advised that visitors to the Parklands should never handle fruit bats.

If left alone, fruit bats are harmless animals as they perform essential ecological roles of pollination and dispersal of tree seeds along the eastern Australian coastline.

However, despite their fundamental ecological role, fruit bats are often the focus or misdirected and ignorant perceptions. Many believe the Hollywood-esque idea that all bats are vision-impaired, blood-sucking, hair-entangling predators from the wildest depths of the earth.

Ironically, a close-up encounter with these supposedly fearful beasts, often reveals quite the opposite. Many people find their fox-like faces quite endearing, showing cute wiggly ears and a wide-eyed expression. And contrary to popular belief, fruit bats have very good eyesight, often using constructions such as street lights and roadways to guide their nocturnal navigation from one of Sydney’s three permanent bat colonies, located at Gordon, Cabramatta and the Royal Botanic Gardens.

So next time you hear the flap of a batwing in the trees, take a moment to consider these night-time natives from a different angle, or for an even closer look, join a Ranger-guided Spotlight Prowl.