Look up in the Maalan Cloud Forest at dusk, and you may be rewarded with a rare sight - the launch of tens of thousands of endangered spectacled flying foxes.

Flying-foxes decamp for the night.

It's an awe-inspiring sight, but one that may not be around forever. 

Last month, UN chief António Guterres issued a stark warning on climate change: “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived”. 

With climate change already pushing Australia's spectacled flying-fox population to the brink, the conservation of their cool-climate rainforest habitat has never been more crucial. 

We're helping to protect spectacled flying-fox habitat through the purchase and protection of the Maalan Cloud Forest. 

Please, act now to help purchase and protect the Maalan Cloud Forest. 

Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.

About the spectacled flying-fox 

The spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicullatus) is an important seed disperser and pollinator of rainforest flora in the Wet Tropics. In fact, it’s known to disperse the seeds of at least 26 species of rainforest canopy trees. 

As important as they are to the rainforest, the rainforest is crucial to them. Some of the biggest threats to their survival include the loss of feeding areas from clearing of native vegetation and land degradation from agriculture. 

Of Australia’s four mainland flying-fox species, they have the smallest known distribution and population in Australia and are found only in Far North Queensland. 

Distribution of flying-foxes in Australia. Source: ResearchGate, map by Pia Lentini, 2018.

Which is why it’s so significant that possibly the country’s largest camp of this endangered fruit bat species is found right next to the Maalan Cloud Forest property. 

The size of the population changes through the year, with reports of over 20,000 individuals over the summer months. This could represent about one-third of the remaining spectacled flying-fox population in the Wet Tropics. 

Heatwaves are already the species' greatest threat 

On January 15, 2019, a record-breaking heatwave in Far North Queensland pushed temperatures to 42°C. This one event is estimated to have killed more than 23,000 spectacled flying foxes, believed to represent almost one-third of the species in Australia. 

As the impact of climate change increases, the remaining population of spectacled flying foxes in Far North Queensland need a refuge they can retreat to in extreme heat conditions. Through the purchase and restoration of high-altitude cloud forest on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland, we can ensure this stronghold is protected well into the future.

Please, act now to help purchase and protect this stronghold for spectacled flying-foxes.

Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.

About the Maalan Cloud Forest

Nestled between two World Heritage-listed national parks, this 83ha block is a critical piece of the puzzle in ensuring the future of the Wet Tropics cloud forest in the Atherton Tablelands. Around 45 hectares of the property in Maalan, Far North Queensland is already remnant rainforest, and revegetation of the remaining 35 hectares will complete an important wildlife corridor connecting the world heritage-listed Maalan National Park and Wooroonooran National Park.

Please, act now to help purchase and protect this stronghold for spectacled flying-foxes.

With all gifts now matched dollar for dollar up to $350,000, each $1.50 you donate will purchase 2 square metres of cloud forest. A donation of $30 buys 40 square metres. A donation of $150 will purchase 100 square metres and $300 will purchase and protect 200 square metres of cloud forest. 

Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.