More than 200 fruit bats have invaded Colac Botanic Gardens leaving gardeners concerned about the impact on historic trees if the unwelcome visitors take up permanent residency.
Fruit bats invade Botanic Gardens
Colac Otway Shire Council’s head gardener Laurence Towers is keeping a close eye on bats that have taken up residence in Colac Botanic Gardens.
4 Responses to “Fruit bats invade Botanic Gardens”
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Thank you Colac Gardens for allowing the bats to get their heads down and have rest after a hard night on the nectar. Pteropus Poliocephalus – aka Grey headed flying fox is a resident of Australia’s east and south coasts, on and off, for around 2 million years. They pollinate 100 species of native trees and are good news for the timber and honey industries. Favorite food is nectar from flowers, pollen and fruit. Sadly we have lost 98% of this species since 1900 and many still die in dangerous backyard fruit tree netting. Sharing backyard fruit with them is a big help in keeping the species going but you decide to net then use only wildlife safe netting available in major hardware stores – it has small holes your fingers can’t poke through. There are nomadic and follow food resources around the state so will probably move on (bit chilly in those parts) but if not then that’s also part of nature and part of Australia. Thanks again to Colac for living with wildlife and helping our upside down friends.
Easy fix, call the batman, I just need a spotlight and some cardboard…
Why. Are they called unwelcome? They are a fascinating important part of our ecosystem. Use this opportunity to educate your resident/children of the diversity of our Australian wildlife.
Well said Una greco!
Education is the key…watching David Attenborough (who incidentally is interested in the conservation of flying foxes) documentaries should parlay into actual species conservation action in our own backyards and community. The bats are a great chance to study and relect on how species are adapting to man-made pressures and how we might be able to help them survive. Some say this species may be functionally extinct by 2050…this would be a very sad thing to happen on our watch.