Bats don’t ‘attack’
I REFER to the article in Friday’s Cairns Post. This fear mongering by the Cairns Post must stop.
Flying foxes do not attack people. The man was not “attacked”.
Flying foxes if unable to move from the ground or entangled in fine netting or barbed wire may lash out or try to bite a rescuer because they do not know the person is trying to help. This is not an “attack” but defending against what might be somebody trying to attack it.
When a flying fox lands on the ground or a balcony floor, It is natural for it to want to climb up something so that it can fly away. Flying foxes cannot take off from the ground like a bird, they drop, then fly up. They usually try to get to the nearest tree to climb up. Sometimes they may climb up a person. That is not an attack. A flying fox flew on to this man’s balcony. Unfortunately this is not a rare eventuality. There are many buildings surrounding the CBD bat colony and when young flying foxes are learning to fly they often land on balconies. Adult flying foxes can collide with buildings too.
Very little detail is given about the incident - whether the flying fox was climbing up on the man’s arm to be able to fly away, or if it had hit the building above the balcony and fallen colliding with the man as it fell and in so doing accidentally scratched his arm. It might have been trying to break its fall by “landing” on the man’s arm. Whichever, it is not an “attack”. Imagine this scenario with a kitten rather than a bat.
Please get your facts right and don’t use emotive fear mongering language. Maree Kerr, Kuranda 1852: Melbourne fails in its bid to
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