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| Subspecies: | Unknown |
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| Est. World Population: | 125-280 |
| CITES Status: | NOT LISTED |
| IUCN Status: | Critically Endangered |
| U.S. ESA Status: | NOT LISTED |
| Body Length: | |
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| Jumping Ability: | (Horizontal) |
| Life Span: | in the Wild |
| Life Span: | in Captivity |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Females) |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Males) |
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The roost tree containing the highest number of individuals of this species is an ironwood Casuarina equisetifolia. On Luaniua, this was the only roost tree in September 2018. On smaller islands, they roost in Pandanus trees or coconut palms. Roosting group size was 6–95. Based on camera trapping, spotlighting observations and local knowledge, Ontong Java Flying Foxes eat breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), nectar from coconut flowers (Cocos nucifera), pandanus fruit (Pandanus spp), cut nut (Barringtonia edulis), pawpaw (Carica papaya), and other cultivated species (possibly inkori: Dillenia sp). Spotlighting indicated that they forage individually, and most of the individuals observed were in coconut or breadfruit trees at night. Two females captured in late September were not lactating or pregnant. The smallest captured in September 2018 individual (115 mm body length) was an immature animal with undeveloped testes.
Size at maturity (in cms): Female: Mass 310 g, forearm 118 mm, body length 175 mm, tibia 58 mm (n=1)Size at maturity (in cms): Male: Mass 313 g, forearm 120 mm, body length 188 mm, tibia 57 mm (n=3)
On Luaniua, the species appears to mainly forage on this island where it roosts, and there was no mass fly-out from the roost over the water at dusk. However, it can fly between islands to forage; many small islands around the atoll periphery are tens to hundreds of metres apart.
This species roosts in camps. On Luaniua, all individuals occupied the largest tree on the island during the day.
Pteropus howensis is restricted to Ontong Java Atoll in the Solomon Islands (Flannery 1995) and likely the smaller Nukumanu Atoll (Papua New Guinea) which is 38 km to the north of Ontong Java and nearly 700 km to the east of New Britain. Ontong Java Atoll consists of 120 small, low coral atolls (50 vegetated islands and islets, a handful with trees) that enclose a vast lagoon extending 70 km between the two largest islands where villages are located; Luaniua in the southeast and Pelau in the north. In the south west the islands of Keila and Keloma also have trees. Each of these islands is 1-2 km long and maximum <500 m wide. The atoll is 250 km north of Isabel, Solomon Islands. The smaller Nukumanu Atoll has unconfirmed reports of Pteropus and is approximately 4.6 km² and has a maximum elevation of only one (1) metre above sea level
This species is listed on Appendix II of CITES. It is not in any protected areas. The most important conservation efforts will include education to prevent importation of coconut material and soil that could introduce the coconut rhinoceros beetle to Ontong Java atoll, and awareness of the value of this flying fox among children, to reduce or prevent incidental harvesting. Efforts to slow down erosion from seas level rise may also delay habitat loss under climate change. Further studies are needed into the distribution of this species, particularly on Nukumanu. New materials for genetic analysis have recently been collected, so taxonomic uncertainty should soon be resolved.