Black flying foxes are native to Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia), Papua New Guinea (Western Province) and Indonesia (West Papua, Sulawesi, Sumba, and Savu).

They roost in mangroves, paperbark swamps, patches of rainforest and bamboo forests, and very rarely in caves or underneath overhangs.

Black flying foxes eat pollen and nectar from native eucalyptus, lilypillies, paperbark, and turpentine trees.

When native foods are scarce, particularly during drought, the bats may take introduced or commercial fruits, such as mangos and apples.

[4] Because climate change is predicted to make Australia hotter, the negative impacts this species faces from extreme temperature events are expected to grow into a larger problem.

A very high proportion of adult flying fox injuries are caused by entanglement in barbed wire fences or loose, improperly erected fruit tree netting, both of which can result in very serious injuries and a slow, agonizing death for the animal if not rescued quickly.