It’s been hot as hell in
Australia over the past weekend. While beachgoers and air-con salesmen
are rejoicing, the fierce summer heat has been catastrophic on the
country's population of grey-headed flying foxes.
Over 700 of these giant bats have perished in parts of South Australia and New South Wales, according to Wildlife Aid Inc. One of the worst affected areas is Singleton in New South Wales, where temperatures reached a dizzying 47°C (116°F) over the weekend. The exact number of deaths isn't yet known, but the figure is expected to rise.
These die-offs have left wildlife officials with the grisly
job of clearing up the hundreds of bodies, some of which are still
eerily hanging upside-down from trees
Death in the trees. The recent #heatwave has killed hundreds of threatened grey-headed flying foxes in Singleton. Pic: Wildlife Aid #wildoz pic.twitter.com/HmZNYe3VHP— Mary Lloyd (@MaryLloyd4) ١٢ فبراير، ٢٠١٧
Part of the problem is that
these flying foxes have been displaced from their normal habitat. Over
the past few decades, there have been increasingly more sightings in
suburban and built-up areas, where there’s less natural shade.
An example of this came last year when the sleepy town of Batemans Bay in New South Wales was overrun with hundreds of thousands of these chaos-causing bats.
"To a certain degree it is a natural event, however they're not in a natural environment due to human disturbance," Jaala Preslan, a Wildlife Aid Inc bat coordinator, told Australia 9News. "In a normal camp you'd have canopies and they'd be able to get down low."
Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) are a species of megabat with a wingspan of around 1 meter (3.3 feet). Although native to the east coast of Australia, they’re gradually shifting westwards. The creatures play a crucial role in the pollination and dispersal of seeds for many flowering plants and trees. However, since the animal is considered vulnerable, the situation is concerning for conservationists and environmentalists alike.
They also carry many deadly human diseases, including the Hendra virus and the rabies-like Australian bat lyssavirus, so people are being asked not to touch them unless they know what they are doing.
Fortunately for the bats, conservationists, and thousands of sweaty Australians, the blistering temperatures are expected to ease up this week.
"To a certain degree it is a natural event, however they're not in a natural environment due to human disturbance," Jaala Preslan, a Wildlife Aid Inc bat coordinator, told Australia 9News. "In a normal camp you'd have canopies and they'd be able to get down low."
Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) are a species of megabat with a wingspan of around 1 meter (3.3 feet). Although native to the east coast of Australia, they’re gradually shifting westwards. The creatures play a crucial role in the pollination and dispersal of seeds for many flowering plants and trees. However, since the animal is considered vulnerable, the situation is concerning for conservationists and environmentalists alike.
They also carry many deadly human diseases, including the Hendra virus and the rabies-like Australian bat lyssavirus, so people are being asked not to touch them unless they know what they are doing.
Fortunately for the bats, conservationists, and thousands of sweaty Australians, the blistering temperatures are expected to ease up this week.
It’s been hot as hell in
Australia over the past weekend. While beachgoers and air-con salesmen
are rejoicing, the fierce summer heat has been catastrophic on the
country's population of grey-headed flying foxes.
Over 700 of these giant bats have perished in parts of South Australia and New South Wales, according to Wildlife Aid Inc. One of the worst affected areas is Singleton in New South Wales, where temperatures reached a dizzying 47°C (116°F) over the weekend. The exact number of deaths isn't yet known, but the figure is expected to rise.
These die-offs have left wildlife officials with the grisly
job of clearing up the hundreds of bodies, some of which are still
eerily hanging upside-down from trees
Death in the trees. The recent #heatwave has killed hundreds of threatened grey-headed flying foxes in Singleton. Pic: Wildlife Aid #wildoz pic.twitter.com/HmZNYe3VHP— Mary Lloyd (@MaryLloyd4) ١٢ فبراير، ٢٠١٧
Part of the problem is that
these flying foxes have been displaced from their normal habitat. Over
the past few decades, there have been increasingly more sightings in
suburban and built-up areas, where there’s less natural shade.
An example of this came last year when the sleepy town of Batemans Bay in New South Wales was overrun with hundreds of thousands of these chaos-causing bats.
"To a certain degree it is a natural event, however they're not in a natural environment due to human disturbance," Jaala Preslan, a Wildlife Aid Inc bat coordinator, told Australia 9News. "In a normal camp you'd have canopies and they'd be able to get down low."
Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) are a species of megabat with a wingspan of around 1 meter (3.3 feet). Although native to the east coast of Australia, they’re gradually shifting westwards. The creatures play a crucial role in the pollination and dispersal of seeds for many flowering plants and trees. However, since the animal is considered vulnerable, the situation is concerning for conservationists and environmentalists alike.
They also carry many deadly human diseases, including the Hendra virus and the rabies-like Australian bat lyssavirus, so people are being asked not to touch them unless they know what they are doing.
Fortunately for the bats, conservationists, and thousands of sweaty Australians, the blistering temperatures are expected to ease up this week.
"To a certain degree it is a natural event, however they're not in a natural environment due to human disturbance," Jaala Preslan, a Wildlife Aid Inc bat coordinator, told Australia 9News. "In a normal camp you'd have canopies and they'd be able to get down low."
Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) are a species of megabat with a wingspan of around 1 meter (3.3 feet). Although native to the east coast of Australia, they’re gradually shifting westwards. The creatures play a crucial role in the pollination and dispersal of seeds for many flowering plants and trees. However, since the animal is considered vulnerable, the situation is concerning for conservationists and environmentalists alike.
They also carry many deadly human diseases, including the Hendra virus and the rabies-like Australian bat lyssavirus, so people are being asked not to touch them unless they know what they are doing.
Fortunately for the bats, conservationists, and thousands of sweaty Australians, the blistering temperatures are expected to ease up this week.