BatAtlas aims to provide up-to-date information on flying-foxes, particularly in Australia.
Bats, those creepy creatures of folklore, made headlines in Australia because of two newly discovered viruses that killed two people in 1994 and one in 1996. Fruitgrowers don't like bats because they destroy $20 million of fruit each year and in some places they cause power blackouts. All-in-all bats are not very popular animals in Australia. But bats also spread seeds which grow into new trees and they pollinate the flowers of many native plants. They are absolutely vital to the conservation of biodiversity - Australia's most important environmental issue.
Bat in the Hand. Douglas Wahl. Grey-headed Flying-fox, Pteropus poliocephalus, Lismore, NSW, Australia. Bites from large flying-foxes can really hurt - males of this species may weigh over one kilogram and can easily bite through unprotected fingernails. Handlers of live animals should wear steel mesh gloves inside leather...and be vaccinated against lyssavirus. (Full Size - 148K)
Red Flying Foxes, Pteropus scapulatus.Richard Baker, Borroloola, Northern Territory, Australia
(Full Size - 110K)
Bats are traditional food for Australian Aborigines, in Asia they are eaten to stave off colds and their dung is used to cure baldness. Solomon Islanders make kites from dried bat skins and Chinese people believe bats bring good luck! There are many fascinating sides to the bat story. People are sometimes bad luck for bats: some species have become extinct and others are in serious trouble. We need to know more about Australia's 90 species of bats - to conserve them and our forests, to prevent the spread of disease and for many other reasons.
"Too many Bats" by Ruth Tidemann. Acrylic on canvas. Original 65x94 cm. Originally painted as a street banner for a cafe of the same name in Rozelle, Sydney.
Ruth has been creating nature images in her own quirky manner on a variety of surfaces for as long as she can remember. At present she is painting a blue elephant on the concrete wall of a roof garden in Thailand.
(Full Size - 110K)
Bats are traditional food for Australian Aborigines, in Asia they are eaten to stave off colds and their dung is used to cure baldness. Solomon Islanders make kites from dried bat skins and Chinese people believe bats bring good luck! There are many fascinating sides to the bat story. People are sometimes bad luck for bats: some species have become extinct and others are in serious trouble. We need to know more about Australia's 90 species of bats - to conserve them and our forests, to prevent the spread of disease and for many other reasons.
Ruth has been creating nature images in her own quirky manner on a variety of surfaces for as long as she can remember. At present she is painting a blue elephant on the concrete wall of a roof garden in Thailand.
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