Ghost Bat

Family: Megadermatidae
Scientific name: Macroderma gigas

Where they roost:
Caves, old mine tunnels and in deep cracks in rocks. They usually roost in colonies, but because many of their roosting sites are being destroyed it is rare to find large colonies.

What they eat:
Australia's only carnivorous bats, preying on large insects, frogs, birds, lizards and small mammals including other bats. They swoop on their prey killing with powerful bites, then fly to a feeding site to eat.

Conservation threats:
Vulnerable to disturbance from human visitors to cave roosts, destruction of caves by mining, and loss of feeding habitat by clearing and land degradation from agriculture.

Other information:
They use their large eyes as well as echolocation to find prey. Females have one baby each year. They feed them milk until old enough to eat meat. They then go out hunting and return to their babies with prey for them to eat.

Photo © BG Thompson