Rescuers worked hard to save bats in heat
ANIMAL rescue workers tried desperately to save hundreds of baby flying foxes as heat exhaustion claimed the lives of thousands of the bats in Sydney’s west on Sunday.
On the day Sydney was the hottest city on the planet, some adult flying foxes were in distress too.
The work – as temperatures soared to 47.3C in the Western Sydney suburb of Penrith – was hot, heroic and heartbreaking, said a spokesman from the charity group Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown.
Some died where they hung in trees. Others dropped to the ground.
“In extremely trying conditions they (volunteers) worked tirelessly to provide subcutaneous fluids to the pups that could be reached and many lives were saved,” the spokesman said.
“But sadly many lives were lost too.
“Hundreds of mainly young flying foxes were lost to the heat.
“The final count could run to thousands.”
Temperature records tumbled when Penrith hit 47.3C at 3.25pm on Sunday, edging past its previous record of 47C – which was set on February 11 last year.
The Bureau of Meteorology initially announced Penrith’s temperature as the hottest in Sydney’s history, but later clarified that Richmond still held that record – 47.8C in 1939.