Large Flying Fox, Gigantic Flying Fox
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Pteropodidae
Genus:	Pteropus
Species:	P. vampyrus
Binomial name
Pteropus vampyrus (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Large Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus), also known as the Greater Flying Fox or kalang is a species of bat in the Pteropodidae family. It is found in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pteropus vampyrus

Like the other members of the genus Pteropus, or the Old World Fruit Bats, it feeds exclusively on fruits. It is noted for being the largest member of the bat family by wingspan, which reaches six feet. It, as with all other Old World fruit bats, lacks the ability to echolocate. It should not be confused with Acerodon jubatus which is also large.

A recent update by the IUCN has listed the species as Near Threatened and mentioned its near-vulnerable status with the following reasons as quoted from the website http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/18766/0/full :

Justification:
Listed as Near Threatened because this species is in significant decline (but at a rate of probably less than 30% over ten years or three generations) because it is being over-harvested for food over much of its range, and because of ongoing degradation of its primary forest habitat, making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable under criterion A.

[edit] References

• Hutson, A.M., Racey, P.A. (Chiroptera Red List Authority) & Cox, N. (Global Mammal Assessment Team). Pteropus vampyrus. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 April 2009.

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