After standing chest-deep in the middle of the river for hours, the perfect belly dip was over in the bat of an eye.<\/p>\n
It was the moment photographer Doug Gimesy had been waiting for, standing in his sweaty waders on a stinking hot day, as he steadied kilos of camera equipment mere inches above the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 35 to 40 degrees, flies buzzing around me, and I\u2019m holding that for hours, on and off,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The photograph captures the grey-headed flying fox as it skims the water\u2019s surface and hurtles directly towards the camera.<\/p>\n
A grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) makes a high-speed belly-dip in a pool of water. They do this during hot weather to cool off and also to get a drink, by licking water off their wet fur. Photograph: Doug Gimesy<\/p>\n
Gimesy has spent more than 160 days in the field documenting flying foxes. He has snapped all four mainland species, capturing their lives and behavioural quirks in about 50,000 images. Each zooms in on some tiny detail, such as the way the animals use their wings as sun shades, raincoats, baby blankets or cooling fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find them the most incredible mammals,\u201d he says, noting their capacity for long distance flight, their critical role as pollinators, and the way they care for and carry their young.<\/p>\n
Gimesy uses images to educate people about the magnificence of flying foxes, to get them to \u201cengage, ask questions and understand\u201d. \u201cMost importantly a good photo can trigger emotions,\u201d he says. Awe, empathy and love are especially important given flying foxes are a group that is \u201coften misunderstood and wrongly vilified\u201d.<\/p>\n
Understanding \u2018sky-puppies\u2019<\/p>\n
Habitat destruction has led to increasing overlap between flying foxes and people in Australia, with camps often located in cities and regional towns. Negative public perceptions can limit support for flying fox conservation, and sometimes lead to threats such as disturbance, harassment or illegal killing, risks identified in recovery plans for endangered spectacled flying foxes<\/a> and vulnerable grey-headed flying foxes<\/a>.<\/p>\n A grey-headed flying fox entangled in urban fruit-tree netting. Despite being rescued, the netting had cut the circulation to its wing for too long and the bat had to be euthanased.\u2028\u2028 Photograph: Doug Gimesy<\/p>\n