Becky’s homage to the bats

A post by Becky.

We have decided that I should be the author of this post, as I am the biggest bat fan and feel like they deserve a post of their own. I was also the one responsible for the pictures taken, and think I managed to take some pretty good ones, even if I do say so myself.  

Unfortunately bats have a bit of a bad reputation among Aussies. Not only do most people here despise invasive species, such as toads, cats and pigs as they, quote; “destroy the native wildlife and habitat”. In contradiction to this, they also dislike a lot of the native wildlife, such a possums and ibis, but most of all, bats due to the “noise” and “mess” they create. I find this very strange as I think they are one of the coolest animals there is.

We have seen bats in many places in Australia and they are also very common in Brisbane. However we have never seen them the way we saw them in Lawn Hill.

When I write bats I actually mean flying foxes or fruit bats, as they are also known as. There are four species of flying foxes in Australia; Black, Grey headed, Spectacled and Little red. The species we saw in Lawn Hill were little reds.

The most spectacular thing with the little reds is that their colonies can reach up to a million individuals and although I did not count them all (though Tom thought I photographed them all), I’m pretty sure that the Lawn Hill colony was pretty close to that.

Flying foxes are a migratory and nomadic species that feed on nectar, pollen and fruit, making them an important 'keystone' species, as many other species of plants and animals rely upon them for their survival. Importantly, they help regenerate forests, help drive biodiversity and keep ecosystems healthy through pollination and seed dispersal.

Unlike other smaller, insect-eating bats, flying foxes don't use sonar, only their eyes and ears. Their night vision is similar to that of a cat and they are just as smart too. When little reds depart for their evening feed at dusk, they do so as a colony, before filtering off into smaller numbers further out, and covering up to 20km per night. We were fortunate enough to witness this at Boodjamulla as they departed on their nightly feeding run.

While working at RSPCA, I learned a bit more about these animals by talking to a wildlife career that took care of the injured and orphaned bats. She described them as very intelligent and curious animals with individual personalities. You can definitely see how curious they are even when viewing them in the wild, as hundreds of eyes follow you around inquisitively, making them great animals to photograph.

Basically, the flying foxes are cute little puppies that can fly, saving the environment at the same time like a true superhero, now if that is not the coolest thing ever I don’t know what is.