In short:
Grey-headed flying foxes have been found in camps west of Adelaide for the first time.
A researcher says the animals are heading further west for food and shelter as more habitat is lost across the country.
What's next?
South Australians are being asked to embrace the protected native bats as new residents.
Flying foxes are slowly moving further west across Australia in search of food and shelter due to habitat loss and the effects of climate change in the country's eastern states.
For the first time in southern Australia, grey-headed flying foxes have been found as far west as the Eyre Peninsula.
There are well-established populations living along the country's east coast and camps have also been spotted in Katherine in the Northern Territory and at Port Augusta and Port Pirie in South Australia.
The native bats are listed under the Commonwealth environment legislation as vulnerable species and are protected nationally.
No bats to 50,000
Adelaide's Botanic Park is currently home to a large camp of up to 50,000 flying foxes, which ecologist Dr Karl Hillyard said was a relatively recent state of affairs.
"I'm always explaining to my kids ... [that] when I was growing up, they weren't here," he said.
"[It indicates] just how our landscape changes from time to time."
The flying fox population in Adelaide has exploded in recent years, increasing from 1,000 in 2010 to the tens of thousands that live there today.
Dr Hillyard, a principal ecologist for wildlife management at South Australia's Department of Environment and Water, said people needed to learn to live with the bats.
"It is just something new for many South Australians that they haven't grown up with, which probably many of our younger generations are now sort of starting to get used to," Dr Hillyard said.
"They're really, really clever [and] really important for our biodiversity."
Sightings far and wide in South Australia
There have been recent sightings of flying foxes at Streaky Bay, Port Lincoln, Riverton, Barmera and Mambray Creek.
Dr Hillyard said they had even been spotted as far as Woomera in SA's outback and Yalata, near the Western Australian border.
"So [it's] definitely a bit new," he said.
"[There's] a little bit of an expansion of their range going on, which is really interesting."
There have also been reports of small camps of around 100 to 200 grey-headed flying foxes at Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Mount Gambier.
Moving elsewhere to find food
Dr Hillyard said their migration has not mitigated their vulnerable status across Australia.
"The grey-headed flying foxes that are being reported on Eyre Peninsula have likely travelled from the Adelaide area ... in search of food," Dr Hillyard said.
"Flying foxes often move about the landscape seeking nectar, flowers and fruits off the many native and introduced plants they feed on."
He said the bats, which are herbivores, helped disperse seeds and pollen.
Dr Hillyard said the native bats were most common on Australia's east coast.
"They span from through Queensland, New South Wales through Vic, and now up through South Australia," he said.
"Some of the research from tracking studies show that they move following food resources.
"Some camps increase in numbers while others taper off depending on where the food resources are."
Radio tracking also showed that the bats followed established bird migration paths and used features in the landscape such as roads or railway lines as guides.
Dr Hillyard said several threats were impacting the protected species across the entire country.
"Habitat loss, climate change, is putting some stress on those populations," he said.
"That's why we're just really keen to help inform people help people understand how they can live with the bats."
Breeding populations
Existing populations have begun breeding across SA's Limestone Coast.
Dr Hillyard said the bats could also be breeding in the camps at Port Pirie and Port Augusta.
"They breed in March to May and then have pups in that September to November period," he said.
"So, it's entirely possible that breeding has already gone on and there are pregnant females up in those parts of the world."
He warned flying foxes could carry diseases and urged people not to touch or handle them and said to seek medical advice if scratched or bitten by one.
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