Heatwave killing Qld bats

BRISBANE: Thousands of heatstressed bats are dropping from trees and creating a health hazard in far north Queensland, as a recordbreaking heatwave blasts the region.

About 3500 flying foxes are estimated to have perished since the furnacelike conditions began on Sunday.

Trish Wimberley, of the Australian Bat Clinic, said that was a conservative estimate, and thousands more were likely to perish before the heatwave ends.

‘‘When you have temperatures 40deg and over, especially for the consecutive days, you will start losing bats,’’ she said yesterday.

‘‘They can’t sustain an internal temperature over 40degC, exactly like humans can’t — they just drop out of the trees dead and dying.’’

Ms Wimberley said one Cairns bat colony had had an 80% death toll and four others had also ‘‘crashed’’.

Volunteers picked up 1000 dead bats at the colony but managed to save about 300, she said.

Health authorities have warned residents not to handle the bats after a spike in bites and scratches.

About 15% of the bat population carries the potentially deadly Australian bat lyssavirus.

‘‘ABLV is an infection like rabies, which can be transmitted through a bat bite or scratch, or possibly through exposure of the eyes, nose or mouth to bat saliva,’’ Doctor Richard Gair, director of Tropical Public Health Services said.

Dead or distressed bats will be collected by trained wildlife workers. — AAP