SUBJECTS: Science
YEARS: F–2, 3–4
Take a close look at the flying mammal called the flying fox, or fruit bat.
Watch these furry flyers as they leave their roosts to find food.
Discover how and why they climb trees.
See how these animals fly like birds but are not birds.
Flying fox or fruit bat either way they are amazing.
Things to think about
- 1.A fruit bat flies like a bird but is not a bird. How might it be different from a bird?
- 2.Look carefully at the fruit bat's features (body parts). It has wings — but can you see how they are different from a bird's wings? How does the bat feed and what does it eat? What time of day are these bats active? When do they rest and sleep?
- 3.Draw or find an image of a bird and a fruit bat. Compare each one's body covering and body parts. Use your drawing or image to explain how a fruit bat is not a bird. A bird hatches from an egg. Find out how a fruit bat is born. Show on your drawing or image which animal group a fruit bat belongs to. What is the word for an animal that is active at night?
- 4.Find out more about mammals. What are the characteristics of a mammal (the things that make them mammals and not other types of creatures)? Which of these are mammals: koalas, wombats, echidnas, emus, and goannas?
Date of broadcast: 12 Aug 1986
Copyright
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