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Bat Conservation & Rescue QLD

Phone: +61 488 228 134

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25.01.2022 On this weeks wildlife friendly gardens post we will be talking about barbed wire fences. Barbed wire fences are horrific for our wildlife. Countless bats, gliders, birds and other species become entangled on the barbs suffering a slow death. In south east Queensland barbed wire is commonly used for security fences and for livestock containment with rescues from barbed wire one of our most common calls. If you have barbed wire on your property, the best thing you can do is re...move the fence and replace it with plain wire. If removing the whole fence is not an option, even just replacing the top strand of wire will avoid the majority of entanglements. If wire replacement is not feasible you can still reduce entanglements by making the fence easier to see for our wildlife. Options include flag bunting, hanging old CDs, reflective tape or bird deterrent discs which is what we use. The wildlife friendly fencing link below has more great ideas for making your barbed wire safer for wildlife. Unfortunately barbed wire is not going away any time soon. However, there are ways that we can reduce the impact it has on our wildlife. We would again like to sincerely thank everyone who donated to our barbed wire ‘dollars for discs’ fundraiser. Our discs have already started being installed around Brisbane! These discs will ensure that wildlife can see barbed wire fences and avoid the majority of entanglements. The video features Arlo, a lovely male black flying fox who was caught on barbed wire by his belly. Thankfully he was called in early and he had only done minor damage to his mouth trying to chew himself free. He was very hungry and thirsty and very much appreciated some juicy grapes! Mr Arlo healed in care and has now been released ***all of our rescuers and rehabbers are fully vaccinated*** Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions. https://www.wildlifefriendlyfencing.com/WFF/Home.html

25.01.2022 We're over the moon that Chris, the second of two juvenile grey-headed flying fox girls we rescued off barbed wire, is now back in the wild flying free. Who knows? Maybe she'll meet up with Aurea, the first of the two juvie girls, and they can compare notes of time in care. If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch and please call us immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue in other regions. Thank you!

24.01.2022 Say hi to Tourmaline! She's an adult Gould’s Wattled Bat and she’s likely pregnant, and with twins, as that is common in her species of microbat. Look at her sharp teeth, perfect for munching on the insects that she loves to eat. She was found on the ground in a horse stable. We’ve had some very windy nights lately so she could have been caught in a gust and, at all of 12.8g, been buffeted around and became disoriented. She has no injuries and indeed, has made it patently c...lear to her carer that she’d like to go home now thank you very much. And that’s exactly what we did, since we were sure she was ready. If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch and please call us immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions. Thank you!

23.01.2022 This wonderful initiative is an international live-streamed music festival over six days and will raise much-needed funds for Animal Sanctuaries around the world. Each performer chooses a charity and Lyle Blakemore has kindly chosen us. Thank you, Lyle. <3 Check it out for the best international Goth and Alternative DJs livestreaming as well as some of the best established bands and new talent performing for our pleasure.

20.01.2022 Of the three Rs of our volunteer work, rescue, rehab and release, the third R, release, is special, since it's the culmination of the efforts of everyone involved. <3 You've met Humboldt and Paul previously, when we shared their stories. Poor Ariel was seen by a fisherman, suspended in the air by a fish hook, 6 meters above a creek. All of these flying-foxes are happily back in the wild now, pollinating forests, dispersing seeds and enjoying batty company. If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch and please call us immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions. Thank you!

19.01.2022 One of the more common calls we receive to our 24/7 rescue phone is when someone has seen a flying-fox on the ground or hanging low. They know that means something is wrong and the bat needs help. So they don’t touch and call us. So it was with this lovely adult grey-headed flying-fox girl, Helen, named after the wonderfully caring caller. And it was the second time Helen had called us after finding a bat in distress! What a hero. <3 It can be frustrating not knowing how the bat came to be in that situation, with no batty dashcam, but we care for each one til they’re fit and healthy and ready for release. If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch and please call us immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions. Thank you.

18.01.2022 As we come into spring our rescue service is going to become busier and busier. The female flying foxes are getting to the later stages of their pregnancies and are going to start getting into trouble as they try to find enough food to feed themselves and their baby. We thought it would be a good idea to do a ‘Wildlife Friendly Gardens’ series. So over the next 6 weeks we will be doing a post on a way you can make your property safer for not only bats, but all of our native w...ildlife. Our first post is a 2 part post on our pets and how we can care for them more responsibly. We would like to start by saying that we love our pets, most of our rehabilitators and rescuers have pet cats and dogs. This is not an anti pet post, we just want to have a discussion. This first part is on dogs. Dog attacks are one of our most common reasons for flying fox rescue and the survival for these flying foxes is incredibly low. Now these are not mean or aggressive dogs, they are lovely family dogs doing what comes naturally to them. It’s our responsibility to ensure they don’t have the opportunity to hurt wildlife. The easiest and most effective solution is to let your dog sleep inside the house at night. This is becoming more and more common and is by far the best way to make your garden safe for nocturnal wildlife. The second way is to secure your dog in an internal yard or smaller fenced area during the night so they have less access to your garden. This is less effective but at least leaves a safe corridor for wildlife to move through your property. Dogs are lovely pets but they can be devastating for local wildlife if not kept responsibly. Additionally, dogs are one of the main reasons for koala fatalities which predominantly occur at night. So keeping your dogs in at night not only helps bats, but koalas as well! Photos by the amazing Wings, Paws, N Claws of Stella and Luna. Stella and Luna were grabbed by a dog and Stella was injured trying to protect her baby Luna. Thankfully this pair beat the statistics with Stella sustaining very serious but viable injuries from the dog. This mumma did such an amazing job protecting her baby that Luna came off unscathed. They have now been released back into the wild.

18.01.2022 The first of our discs are in place! This will make barbed wire fences easier for flying foxes to see and thus avoid. Thanks to everyone who contributed to our fundraising campaign. <3 We've been called to at least two rescues previously on this fence, next to a cocos palm , so it was a high priority. With birthing season nearly upon us, if you see a bat on barbed wire in the coming months, it could well be a mum with a baby tucked up in her wing. So please call us immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.

18.01.2022 dollars for discs, help save bats from barbed wire *** Fundraising goal met and exceeded!*** Barbed wire is a serious issue for wildlife all over Australia. Bats, birds and gliders all become entangled on the sharp barbs suffering a slow death unless found and rescued. In south east Queensland, we very commonly rescue flying foxes off barbed wire fences where they are used as security measures. The flying foxes simply can’t see these fences at night and fly into them as t...hey feed on the native landscaped vegetation. Their delicate wings become entangled on the barbs which causes horrific injuries as they struggle to free themselves. As much as we would love these fences to be removed it’s simply not a realistic solution at this point in time. One measure that has proven to be very effective however is bird deterrent discs. These are shiny steel discs that are installed onto the top strand of barbed wire so all wildlife can see and avoid the fence. These discs cost just over $1 each for the disc and the stainless steel peg to install. We would love for our rescuers to have access to these discs so they can rescue a bat off barbed wire and then install these discs on the fence to significantly reduce the likelihood of another animal becoming entangled in the same spot. For just $20 you can protect a 10m stretch of barbed wire fence. Our aim is to reach a target of $1,000 to install discs on 500m of barbed wire fences through south east Queensland. We will always be available to rescue bats off barbed wire but wouldn’t it be great if we could try to prevent it happening in the first place! If you are able to please donate through the Facebook link or via our website link below. If donating via our website, please put ‘barbed wire’ in the donation description. Your donation will not only help bats but our local birds and gliders as well. Thank you for your support! https://bats.org.au/get-involved/donate/ Pictured is Rhubarb, a juvenile little red flying fox who became badly entangled on barbed wire earlier this year. This fence was installed between two flowering trees and she flew straight into it as she went from one tree to the other. Rhubarb sustained serious injuries to her wings but has been able to heal with some extended time in rehab. She’ll be released once the little reds return to south east Queensland.

15.01.2022 This sweet little boy is Butters, a baby black flying fox. Butters was called in to us after him and his mum were attacked by a dog. Unfortunately the injuries to Butters mum were too severe and she passed before we arrived. She did such a fantastic job of protecting her baby that Butters was not injured. We’re sad to say that this is a very common occurrence. Dogs are lovely pets but please let them sleep inside at night to keep our nocturnal wildlife safe. These are not mea...n or aggressive dogs that grab wildlife, they are normal family pets just doing what comes naturally. It’s up to us to be responsible pet owners and ensure our pets cannot harm wildlife. Butters mum paid the ultimate price but her sacrifice is not in vain. Butters is thriving in care with his new carer who says he has a favourite toy to snuggle and is starting to show some serious sass as he gains confidence! Fly free Butters mum, your baby is being well cared for Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.

14.01.2022 This is Talc, a Little Broadnosed Bat, who was found in a warehouse by some caring workers who then called us. A night shift had worked the night before so she may have been attracted to yummy insects buzzing around the lights. As the weather warms up, we'll be seeing more microbats. If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch and please call us immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions. Thank you!

12.01.2022 *Another successful reunite for the season* Early in the morning our rescuers were called out to attend to a baby black flying fox holding onto a door jam at Coochiemudlo Island. The homeowners had discovered this very distressed baby flying fox as they went to go outside in the morning. Thankfully these homeowners are responsible pet owners and both of their dogs sleep inside at night meaning their dogs had not interacted with him at all. There was a food tree nearby so it w...as suspected he had just been dropped or fallen and crawled under the awning where mum couldn’t get him. He was a perfect candidate to attempt a reunite! Our rescuers headed back out to Coochiemudlo just before dusk with the baby in tow. They used the homeowner’s clothesline and hung a towel for the baby to cling to and to give mum somewhere to land. Just before dusk mum came barreling in frantically calling for her bub. Baby had a good set of lungs and returned her calls. She circled around a few times and landed in a couple of spots close by to scope out the situation. Finally she landed on top of the clothesline and climbed down to the baby. She spent a couple of minutes cleaning the yucky human smell off him before flying off with baby attached. A very happy mum and baby and an absolutely perfect outcome for this pair! Sound on for the video where you can hear the mother flying fox calling and the baby responding to her. Even though this baby was only in care with us for a short time he wracked up quite the bill with ferry tickets out to the island. It would be wonderful is someone would be willing to sponsor this baby for $50 which will cover the cost of our rescuers tickets to rescue and then reunite this boy. Please message us if you are interested in sponsorship. Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.

12.01.2022 This darling girl is Cassie, short for Cassiterite. She’s a large-footed myotis, commonly known as a fishing bat. These bats use their large feet to trawl the water for freshwater invertebrates and occasionally small fish. The lovely people who found her and called us, live near a waterway. We think Cassie may have clipped one of her wings on something while flying. She had moved when our rescuer arrived but, not giving up, she searched and found Cassie hanging on a backyard... brick wall, dehydrated and cranky. Cassie will be in care til the bruising on her wing heals. Luckily she loves her diet of brine shrimp, including slurping up the juice. Yum. There are more pictures in the comments. If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue in other regions. Thank you.

12.01.2022 On this week's wildlife friendly gardens post we will be talking about something very simple to change, fruit netting. Bats, snakes, gliders and birds all become fatally entangled in inappropriate fruit netting. This inappropriate netting is widely available for sale and people install it on their trees with no knowledge of the cruelty it inflicts. There are a couple of options you have if you wish to protect your fruit in a way that is ethical and wildlife friendly. The pref...erred option is to individually bag the fruit you want to keep for yourself and leave the rest for wildlife. You can buy inexpensive soft fine mesh bags online that you can use for this purpose. The second option is to purchase wildlife friendly netting which is called ‘hailguard’ or ‘crop protector’. This netting has a very fine weave that you can’t poke even the tip of your finger through. Even with this wildlife friendly netting it’s important to install it on a frame or so there are no gaps that wildlife can get through. We find that the vast majority of people who purchase inappropriate fruit netting just have no idea of the harm it can cause. So please, spread the word. Check in with your gardening friends and family and make sure they are using wildlife friendly netting or individual bags for their fruit. It is so easy to purchase ethical netting that there really is no reason for wildlife to continue to suffer. Pictured is Oliver, an adult male black flying fox who became entangled in inappropriate netting as he was trying to feed on some tasty mangos. Thankfully he was spotted early and only sustained minor injuries. He has been released back into the wild ***all of our rescuers and rehabbers are fully vaccinated*** Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.

11.01.2022 A homeowner opened her pool umbrella only to discover a whole colony of broad nosed microbats had taken up residence! Most of the bats had fallen from the umbrella when she opened it and she was very concerned about them being eaten by birds during the day. She did the right thing and gave us a call to rescue the colony and attempt to find them a new home. Our rescuer bundled up all of the bats, counting 18 females all with tiny twin babies on board! Our rescuer and one of ou...r experienced microbat carers were able to use one of the great microbat boxes donated to us by Pimpama State Secondary College for their new home. This box was installed in the nature strip just next to the property they were found on. The colony was transferred to the new bat box which gave them time to settle and de-stress. The bats have not returned to the homeowners umbrella so they have either chosen to stay put in the bat box or have found another home close by. We very commonly get microbats in pool umbrellas so it’s a good idea to give umbrellas a quick visual check underneath before opening it fully. If you do find bats, give us a call for advice on the best way to proceed. Thankfully it was a good outcome for this lovely little colony of mozzie munchers. Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.

10.01.2022 Our first premmie flying fox of the season. Flying foxes usually give birth in spring and early summer so it won't be long until baby season is upon us. Last year we had terrible flowering over winter which led to a starvation event and an abnormally large intake of premmie babies. We do absolutely everything we can for these babies but unfortunately they do have a guarded prognosis. This year we have had beautiful flowering across our local area and there are lots of very fat and happy mums flying around at the moment. It is looking like this will be a far better season for our mums and babies!

09.01.2022 Matching outfits for these two baby bats’ photoshoot because they match in age and rescue story as well. These two gorgeous little boys were three weeks old when rescued on the same day, 31st Oct, Halloween, both from street drains, but in different suburbs. In a remarkable coincidence, both were found hanging by their little feet from the drains and both were called in to us. The drain in the picture is similar to the type of drain they were in. :'( The Drain Boys would love... to have individual names, so we are delighted to invite symbolic adoption for them. For a donation of $90 each, we’ll email a Certificate of Adoption with the name you’ve chosen. Please comment below if you’d like to adopt either boy and we’ll be in touch. One has a scar near his eye where he had a little cut. So please specify the boy with the scar or the other boy. In Australia, this donation is tax deductible. Thank you. <3

09.01.2022 A great piece by gardening Australia featuring our very own former president and volunteer! This is a wonderfully positive and educational piece for creating safe gardens for our flying foxes. It’s well worth a watch We’ll be doing our own wildlife friendly gardens social media campaign over the next 6 weeks. We’ll touch on a couple of things featured in this video with the addition of some other great ways to live safety with wildlife. https://www.abc.net.au//factshee/going-in-to-bat/12626116

08.01.2022 This big flapper is Taco, a baby boy black flying fox. Taco’s story is our most common when rescuing baby flying foxes. He was found by himself on the ground and we can only guess at how he came to be separated from his mum. Taco had been grounded for days in a puddle of water so was quite unwell when someone found him and called us in. He spent a week being intensively cared for by one of our experienced rehabilitators before we were confident he would be ok. Taco has put on... lots of weight and is now thriving! In this video you can see his vigorous flapping which is essential for a baby flying foxes development. They start flapping from an early age which helps them build up flight muscles and stamina they will need when they start flying at 8-12 weeks old. As an adult Taco will travel hundreds of kilometres across the landscape as our most important long distance pollinator and seed disperser. Taco is only 4 weeks old at the moment so he still has a few more weeks of practice before he’ll be flying for real. Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.

08.01.2022 This is part 2 of our ‘Wildlife Friendly Gardens’ pet post, this time on cats. We would like to reiterate that we love pets, both cats and dogs. We just want to have a discussion on how we can keep our pets more responsibly to limit their impact on our local wildlife. Cats are lovely and affectionate pets but they are well known to be incredibly skilled hunters who have devastating effects on our local wildlife. Cats are predators with natural hunting instincts but their imp...act on wildlife is not a natural part of the food chain. Our native animals have not evolved with cats so are more susceptible to their predation. A recent study estimated that each roaming pet cat kills an average of 186 animals per year! They also found that cats are only bringing home approximately 15% of their prey. Cats more commonly catch microbats but can also prey on baby flying foxes. This is in addition to birds, small mammals, reptiles, frogs and anything else they can get their paws on. Even if the animal survives the initial encounter, they will die a slow and painful death due to the bacteria in a cats bite. This is why it’s so important never to release an animal you have retrieved from your cat, get it to the vet ASAP! The best thing you can do to limit your cats impact is to keep them inside or enclosed 24/7. This is becoming more and more popular as people realise that this not only benefits wildlife, but also their cat. This method of responsible pet ownership is endorsed by the RSPCA, vets and cat rescue groups around Australia and the world. There are a plethora of different cat enclosures to buy or make including low cost and low skill options. If enclosures aren’t your thing you can even harness train your cat to take it for walks around your property. Cat toys, food puzzles and cat friends are great ways to keep your cat happy and entertained inside. Over a million cats are already being kept responsibly in Australia. This is a million cats not as risk of being hit by cars, catching diseases or being attacked by dogs. Each of these cat owners are doing their part to help local wildlife and we are so excited that this responsibility is starting to become the norm. Photo of Snorlax by the amazing Wings, Paws, N Claws. Snorlax was attacked by a pet cat after falling from his mum. The cat caused a great deal of damage including bite wounds all over his body (including on his face that you can see) and severely damaged wings. In addition to his injuries little Snorlax also had to fight off a serious infection from the cats saliva. Thankfully Snorlax had first class veterinary treatment from the RSPCA and a first class rehabilitator to get him through. He has now been released. Are you a responsible cat owner? Post photos of your cat enclosures or other ways you ensure your cat and the local wildlife stay safe.

08.01.2022 Do you remember Aurea, a dear little juvenile 4-month old grey-headed flying-fox girl who was caught on barbed wire? Well, just as Aurea is healing nicely and nearly ready for release, another 4-month old juvenile grey girl was called in after also being caught on barbed wire. Sweet Chris was having a lovely meal of pollen and nectar in a flowering red bottlebrush and didn’t see the dangerous fence as she flew off. It was a large industrial property surrounded by barbed wire,... with many areas where she wouldn’t readily be seen. Chris was lucky in that she was in an area people passed and so a kind person saw her and called us . Please keep an eye out for wildlife tangled on barbed wire fences. They are stuck and need help. Gliders and birds become entangled too. If you see an animal caught on barbed wire, please call RSPCA on 1300ANIMAL. For bats, don’t touch and call us immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions. Thank you. See more

07.01.2022 Last week was a massive week for BCRQ, training-wise. In preparation for the upcoming busy season, we held two orphan workshops, one rescue workshop and, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Jen and Sam, BCRQ launched a new microbat workshop. Jen was excited to give those who attended a sneak peek at our new streamlined database which is currently receiving finishing touches to be ready for orphan season. Many new and continuing members attended, happily complying with ...Covid restrictions. So we’re more ready than ever for your call! If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue in other regions. Thank you.

07.01.2022 Here's a short but lovely video of Tourmaline (from our previous post) being released. Can you see our carer is wearing gloves? She's also vaccinated. If you see a bat, don’t touch! Call us immediately on 0488 228 134 and we'll send a trained, vaccinated volunteer to help the bat. #notouchnorisk

04.01.2022 The start of birthing season for flying-foxes and microbats is just around the corner. In the months ahead, please keep an extra eye out for babies (pups). For microbats, pups can fall through small gaps in ceilings into office or commercial premises or be rescued for countless other reasons. For flying-foxes, a baby could be clinging to a mother’s body in any of the scenarios we typically rescue adults: barbed wire, fruit tree netting, collision, or dog attack. Babies someti...mes fall off their mothers too and, while the mother will search and search, sometimes she can’t find her baby. A baby can survive for days clinging to a mother sadly electrocuted on power lines so please call in any bat you see on power lines so we can check. As always, if you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch and please call us immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions. Thank you.

03.01.2022 This Giving Tuesday, we’d humbly like to let our overseas friends know that we are registered with Benevity, which is a causes portal that enables hundreds of enterprise companies to make a charitable impact via corporate giving programs. In some cases, your employer will double any donation you make. Some of our wonderful supporters have already helped us out this way. A huge thank you to you. <3 Benevity could be an option if you wish to support us and your employer partici...pates. Help us continue to help bats like this juvenile grey-headed flying-fox who was rescued from a barbed wire fence. Thank you! If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.

02.01.2022 We were excited to be made aware of this new feature film on climate change and mass extinction. It has a focus on flying foxes who are dramatically affected as heat events become more severe and more frequent. There are screenings happening in a few places around Australia

01.01.2022 This is Brooke, a lovely black flying-fox girl from last year who found herself in a narrow alley-type space behind a business premises in central Brisbane. She was not injured, just trapped, with no room and nothing for her to climb from which she could flap and fly away. While she went on to be released, she was pregnant and sadly lost her baby from the stress of her situation. Most adult females, including Brooke most likely , will be pregnant right now and starting to sh...ow. If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. Don’t touch and please call us immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions. You could save two lives!