BAT FIGHT BREWING
MOVE TO CUT TREES:
of Meteorology FLYING fox displacement is back in the spotlight with the Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort’s owners pushing to cut down 15 trees on the property.
AccorHotels has applied to Cairns Regional Council to remove the “significant” trees scattered through the resort, including along its Abbott St and Lake St boundaries.
The application cites concerns about branches falling on guests or property, trucks hitting off lower limbs when drivTODAY’S forecaster David Bernard said Cairns was lucky to have escaped a serious amount of rainfall. But he said the warmer-than-usual weather was settling in for the long haul.
“It’s a little bit warmer than average. In November, Cairns ing on the property, and root systems damaging footpaths.
It also pointed out the mess left by bats who roost in the trees, and the negative reaction of guests.
“Spectacled flying fox urine and faeces make footpaths and the driveway beneath mango and palm trees slippery, particularly during and after rain,” it states.
Hotel guests may be defecated or urinated on by spectacled flying foxes as they walk under the … mango trees.”
The report said some guests may believe there was a disease usually has an average of 32C, but it will be 33C in Cairns for the rest of the week,” he said.
He said there was much less rainfall across Cairns than there was in other parts of the state overnight.
“If you were right under a risk, did not like the smell or appearance of the mess, and could have their sleep disrupted by the noise the colony created.
“Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort believes that its reputation and appeal as a holiday destination may suffer from the impacts of spectacled flying foxes,” it continued.
“(The resort) has considered alternative options to tree removal (eg covered walkways), but it is the opinion that the alternatives do not adequately address the concerns of public safety, liability issues and business objectives.” thunderstorm then it probably seemed like a lot of rain, but across Cairns it was very minimal,” he said.
Severe thunderstorms were forecast for most of southeast Queensland yesterday, with high chances of heavy rain,
About 30 trees will be retained in the process, including one mango tree adjacent to the resort’s rear entrance on Abbott St, and any removals would have to be conducted in accordance with federal and state laws.
Cairns and Far North Environment Centre president Denis Walls said flying fox populations were already under extreme stress, with reports of 300 babies being rescued and 200 found dead under the roost recently outside the Cairns City Library.
He said experts believed the flash flooding and possible hail on the cards over the coming days.
Possible showers are forecast for today, with partly cloudy weather and maximum temperatures of 33C for the rest of the week. problem could have been caused by the proliferation of cranes in their flight path, making it hard for bats to find their way home.
“They have to go somewhere,” Mr Walls said.
“What will happen if their numbers continue to fall as they have been? We’ve already seen a 50 per cent reduction in their numbers over the past 10 years.”
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