About Bats - bats.org.au

• bats.org.au/about-bats

Learn about bats including the differences between Queensland's flying foxes and microbats, as well as the facts on disease, and how these misunderstood creatures are under threat.

For lots of great info download our PDF brochure on bats.

bats.org.au - about bats pdf

Megabats (Flying-foxes) or fruit bats are essential for our Australian forest health through long distance pollination and seed dispersal they are true forest makers.
While everyone sleeps flying-foxes make forests!

Flying-foxes can live up to 20 years in captivity but in the wild there are many perils – most man made.
They can weigh up to 1kg, with a 1.2 m wing span and fly at approx. 25km/hr.
Bats are the only mammal capable of sustained flight
There are over 4000 species of mammals in the world 1/4 are bats. Just on 100 species of bats are found in Australia.
Flying-foxes are vital in Australia as the most efficient long distance pollinator of our hard wood forests.Studies revealed that necar is release from 7pm to 7 am with the most being released after midnight. Pollen receptors then shut down at dawn. So it’s not the bees and the birds – it’s the bats the forests have evolved to rely upon.
Flying-foxes all over the world play an economically important role in pollinating commercial plants such as bananas, dates, figs, mangoes jackfruit, durian, cashews and many more.

http://bats.org.au/about-bats/flying-foxes.php

Microbats are economically important for eliminating agricultural insect pests and disease carrying mosquitoes.
Some microbats can consume their own body weight in pest insects in one night e.g. flying termites, cockroaches, lawn grub moths, disease carrying mosquitoes and midges.
Without microbats our use of chemicals increase which in turn affects human health and economies and can seriously effect whole ecosystems.
Vampire bats are only found in Central and South America, they only weigh 35 gms. Anticoagulant from their saliva may soon be used to treat human heart conditions. They are the only bats with the ability to “walk” or waddle!

http://bats.org.au/about-bats/microbats.php

Bats around the world and in Australia are in decline, mostly due to loss of foraging habitat, loss of safe roosts and a poor understanding of their worth.
Bats have a long gestation period compared to other animals of comparable size and rarely give birth to more than one young

All bats are protected by law but their survival is not assured.

http://bats.org.au/about-bats/threats.php

Ways you can help us to help them:

If you would like to help Bat Conservation & Rescue Qld you could apply to become a member – please visit the membership page and join up today. Our job is an important one not only for animal welfare but also for conservation of a species under serious threat of extermination. We cannot do this work without the help of volunteers. Naturally we are a wonderful bunch of animal loving human beings! We need you and the bats need you more?

Sponsor an orphan or an education flying-fox your assistance can help to resource struggling volunteers buy cages or fuel to do their important work. Please give now, help to save our important Australian bats. If this is something you can do to help make a donation to Bat Conservation & Rescue Qld, you can make a direct deposit into our account – these donations are greatly appreciated and tax deductible.

Plant native trees and bushes for bats and other wildlife. Did you know we bulldozed more land in Australia than the amazon in the 1990′s? Qld one of the worst tree clearing states in Australia and although there is a moratorium to prohibit more clearing it still goes on unabated – so we need you to plant trees not just for bats but for all wildlife.

Remove hazards from your environment, such as barbed wire, unsafe netting and cocos palms. Please try to make our surroundings, our suburbs wildlife friendly, this planet belongs to them as well, try to limit the harm and suffering.

Put up a Microbat box at your house. Microbats are the tiny forgotten mammals, many people have no knowledge they exist, they are suffering from the loss of habitat as well. Hollows in trees can take decades to form and there is so much competition from birds and other mammals such as possums and gliders. If you put up a bat box the microbats will help protect your family from all the pest you use poisons to kill. Throw away the poisons which make us all sick and use microbats as the pest insect busters. They love poolside umbrellas – a great alternative to a bat box!

Report any injured bats, and if possible take precautions to minimize their stress and prevent contact between the bat and humans or other animals. We don’t want you to be bitten as the bat will need to be euthansed and you may need rabies vaccinations. You can be humane and careful – call someone who is trained and vaccinated to help the bat. Any bat alone through the day will need help – Rescue phone – 0488 228 134 (Qld AU)

Encourage people to find out the facts about bats not just read the tabloids!

Listen to an interview by Kelly Higgins-Devine on ABC radio with Biosecurity Qld’s Janine Barrett and Bat Conservation & Rescue Qld President Louise Saunders about hendra-virus-concerns.

Our Landcare Place story also gives you good information about why we are a passionate group of volunteers doing amazing work to preserve wildlife and habitat. We are proud to be a Landcare group.