Livingstone’s flying foxes are frugivorous herbivores and feed on a large variety of fruits, as well as nectar and leaves.
Livingstone’s flying foxes are frugivorous herbivores and feed primarily on fruit. They also feed on nectar and leaves, to a lesser degree.
Feeding is principally on native species but also includes non-native kapok (Ceiba pentandra). Particularly important food sources are native giant-leaved fig trees (Ficus lutea) and Ficus antandronarum.
In general, Pteropus species use olfaction to find fruiting trees and determine if fruit is ripe enough to eat.
• Image | © Andrew Thompson, All Rights Reserved
• Sources | (Dewey & Long, 2007; Dechmann & Safi, 2005; Sewall, 2002; Sewall, Young, Trewhella, Rodríguez-Clark, & Granek, 2016; Trewhella, Rodríguez-Clark, Davies, Reason, & Wray, 2001)
