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Nature & Environment

Australian town is invaded by 100,000 bats

By T.K. Randall
May 24, 2016 · Comment icon 14 comments

Some residents have reported being trapped in their own homes. Image Credit: CC BY 3.0 Justin Welbergen
Batemans Bay in New South Wales has become so overrun that a state of emergency has been declared.
Bats can be unnerving at the best of times, but imagine trying to go about your business while there are scores of the notorious flying mammals covering every square inch of every surface.

This was the spectacle that confronted residents of Batemans Bay in Australia recently after more than 100,000 grey-headed flying foxes descended on the town en masse.

"I can't open the windows, I can't use the clotheslines," said local resident Danielle Smith. "It's just, I can't study because the noise just goes constantly. I can't concentrate. It's not fun."
"The bats came and they are just out of control. We just can't do anything because of them."

Bizarrely, this particular type of bat is actually considered to be an endangered species meaning that authorities are only permitted to use non-lethal methods to deal with the problem.

One such tactic has involved using smoke and loud noises to deter the bats while another has seen areas of vegetation being chopped down to force the animals to move on from the area.

Ultimately though it may simply be a case of waiting for them to leave on their own accord.

Source: Sky News | Comments (14)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #5 Posted by Farmer77 8 years ago
Thats nuts. I like bats , but that would be too much. Great for the pot growers though 
Comment icon #6 Posted by paperdyer 8 years ago
If it could be determined where the bats came from and why, an answer may present itself on how to get they to move on.  One would think 100,000 bats would be easy to trace.
Comment icon #7 Posted by Hawkin 8 years ago
When they depart they'll leave the area well fertilized.
Comment icon #8 Posted by Peter B 8 years ago
Batemans Bay is where a lot of Canberra people go during the summer holidays - the population of the town more than triples. But if the bats are still there this summer, I think a lot of Canberrans are going to want to go somewhere else...
Comment icon #9 Posted by pallidin 8 years ago
How, exactly, do an estimated 100,000 bats in a single location qualify as "endangered" or "vulnerable" species? Unless it's their only home I suppose?  
Comment icon #10 Posted by Habitat 8 years ago
Carriers of lethal diseases, Hendra virus, Lyssa virus.
Comment icon #11 Posted by highdesert50 8 years ago
I consider flying foxes as rather handsome. But, they can be quite large and in those numbers I would imagine pose an undeniable health risk. There must be a substantial fruit and nectar source to keep them in the area. Interesting that they are protected as I recall them as a delicacy in parts of the Marianas.
Comment icon #12 Posted by ChrLzs 8 years ago
While I too really like bats, and in small numbers they are fine..  As Habitat and others point out, they frequently carry lethal diseases around these parts.  I dunno if the Bateman's Bay ones are like the ones here (Brisbane is about 1100km NNE), but their poop is a real problem - it is incredibly acidic (read "it eats paint like you wouldn't believe..") and once dried is like concrete in terms of difficulty to remove...  Here, we often see large flocks passing overhead as they go from wherever they feed to wherever they roost, and thus I have quite a few nasty marks on my car's paintwo... [More]
Comment icon #13 Posted by psyche101 8 years ago
I do not doubt 100,000 for a second, seen them all my life everywhere I have lived. They are often in very large numbers.  They really smell too.    I have to say I agree with the disease side of things, that is somewhat frightening, Hendra is scary as. My Father used to have one that perched during the day in his Fig bush in the backyard. As you say Chrlz they are handsome, but I wouldnlt touch one with Hendra and Lyssa Virus, which as I understand is rabies. 
Comment icon #14 Posted by psyche101 8 years ago
  They are in Batemans Bay, not Nimbin!


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