He said the government strongly advised members of the public not to touch flying foxes, even if they appeared to be dead, as it was easy to be bitten or scratched when trying to help or move the animals. “With so many animals in need of care already and a high likelihood that heat-stress events will hit bats again this summer, it’s imperative that authorities roll out all the support they can for volunteer wildlife carers bearing the brunt of this crisis,” he said.Ī spokesman for the Queensland Department of Environment and Science said the total impact on flying-fox populations was difficult to estimate accurately, but it was being closely monitored by the department, the CSIRO, local governments and wildlife carers. ![]() “The concern is what has this done to the already vulnerable status of the species?”Įvan Quartermain, the Australian head of programs for Humane Society International, said carers and vets working on the ground to assist the flying foxes would need support. “The very frightening thing about the grey-headed flying fox being affected is that their status is already threatened,” she said. ![]() She said the baby animals that had been born were incredibly underweight.Īn emaciated baby black flying foxes is nursed by a carer. “They should be well and truly into their pregnancy by now and they’re either not pregnant or they come in so thin they ultimately lose their babies,” she said. “The most shocking picture I’ve taken away from the last couple of weeks is a lot of animals that have come in looking like they’ve been mummified, that’s how dehydrated they were.”īishop said carers were taking in a disproportionate number of female flying foxes of breeding age during what would normally have been breeding season. “I haven’t ever seen the degree of emaciation and animals in as bad condition as I have this year,” Bishop said. Tania Bishop, a wildlife veterinarian based in Queensland who has worked with flying foxes for 20 years, said the impact of dry winds and low humidity on the animals had led to what vets and carers were calling a “starvation event”. Land clearing and development in flying-fox habitat also reduces the availability of food, but the pattern of prolonged warm and dry weather, as well as recent bushfires, has exacerbated the situation. ![]() Photograph: Nick EdardsĬarers and experts believe the cause is the prolonged dry conditions in eastern Australia, which has reduced the availability of food sources such as tree blossom. Grey-headed flying foxes are suffering from food shortages at a crucial stage of their breeding cycle, right when mothers have dependent pups on board.
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