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Spectacled
Flying Fox Rescue
The golden
bat is one of the most endangered bats in the world.
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| Spectacled
flying fox baby waiting to be fed. |
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| Spectacled
flying fox babies that were rescued from the rainforests
in Australia. When these young ones were old enough they
were either released back into the wild or returned to
their mothers. |
Adult spectacled flying fox ready to be released.
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The Spectacled Flying Foxes
in Australia are in a lot of trouble. A tick has been introduced onto
the continent, and when it bites the bats it causes paralysis. The bats
fall to the ground and die of dehydration, starvation, or attack by insects.
OBC organized a group of volunteers to save these bats. For three months
we combed the rainforest floor finding downed bats. The bats were brought
into a special hospital, given an antitoxin, time to recover, then returned
back into the wild. This program has been highly successful and we saved
hundreds of bats.
Australia
has some very special bats, including the Spectacled flying fox. This
bat has almost a 5 foot wingspan. Unfortunately, the bats are decreasing
very rapidly in numbers. The problem lies with an introduced plant,
the tobacco plant. Ticks which use this plant as a temporary home hop
onto the spectacled flying foxes as they fly low to feed off of the
flowers of the plant. These bats are the only bats in Australia that
feed off of this plant. Bats become paralyzed quickly, are grounded,
and die.
OBC
has gone to Australia to look at the situation with the bats and to
see what we could do to help. We set up a long-term project with Pam
Tully, a bat rehabilitator, and made plans on returning each year to
help her efforts further. The rescue project takes place in Milla Milla,
Australia. The months of October through December are the most crucial
because mother spectacled flying foxes give birth to their young ones,
unfortunately this is also the time when the ticks bite. The bats get
bit and fall to the ground, injuring both themselves and their pups.
Bats are medicated and placed in a hospital. Babies are taken away
from their mothers and hand-fed by volunteers every 2-4 hours around
the clock. After mother bats recover from the paralysis and injuries,
the mothers and babies are reunited and released. Baby flying foxes
and their families (called camps) stay together for life. Camps can
consist of hundreds of thousands of bats. Mother bats will teach their
babies everything they need to know about being a flying fox. She will
teach them where to find the tastiest fruit and how to avoid predators.
Father bats roost along the edge of the colony to make sure the mothers
and babies are safe from any harm.
This
conservation project is extremely important, as this is the only group
working to save the spectacled flying foxes. If you are interested
in contributing toward the work in Australia your donation will go
for much needed supplies, like medication, hospital supplies, and fruit
for the bats.
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