Archie the flying fox joined Richard Morecroft behind the news desk

After Richard Morecroft's death, an ABC account recalls the broadcaster's work fostering an orphaned flying fox named Archie.

The full report

A story about the late broadcaster Richard Morecroft has brought renewed attention to an unusual part of his life away from the television camera: fostering a grey-headed flying fox named Archie. ABC News reported that Morecroft cared for the orphaned pup in the late 1980s after completing wildlife rescue training. He sometimes kept Archie warm in a handkerchief beneath his shirt while reading the evening news, a detail viewers at home could not have seen.

Morecroft believed the pup came from a colony near Sydney's Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. He documented their time together in Raising Archie, a television natural-history program. The work required frequent feeding, cleaning and exercise as the animal developed. A letter he sent to his trainer in 1987 recorded Archie's measurements and progress. Morecroft's care was part of a rescue process, with the aim of returning the flying fox to other bats rather than keeping it as a pet.

Archie later went to a creche to socialise with other flying foxes and was eventually released into a colony, according to the ABC account. People who knew Morecroft through wildlife rescue remembered his commitment to the animal. The article was published after his death at age 70 and complements the public record of his work as an ABC newsreader and television presenter.

Wildlife care practices have changed since the 1980s. A WIRES coordinator told ABC News that modern carers use different precautions, including incubators, because of disease risks. Members of the public should not handle bats; trained rescue organisations are the appropriate contact for an animal in distress. This report recounts Morecroft's documented foster experience without presenting past methods as current advice.

Reporting status

This original NewNWS report was drafted from the cited source material and passed a second evidence check. Claims that remain the account of one publisher are attributed in the source disclosure below.