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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/12/flying-foxes-die-in-their-thousands-in-worst-mass-mortality-event-since-australias-black-summer>
"Thousands of flying foxes have perished in the heatwave that scorched
south-east Australia last week, the largest mass mortality event for flying
foxes since black summer.
Extreme temperatures resulted in deaths in camps across South Australia,
Victoria and New South Wales. Grey-headed flying foxes, listed as vulnerable
under federal environment laws, were the most affected.
The director of the Fly by Night bat clinic in Melbourne, Tamsyn Hogarth, said
volunteers witnessed thousands of dead bats at Brimbank park, and hundreds more
at camps in Yarra Bend and Tatura.
Wildlife volunteers did what they could to help, she said, rescuing dozens of
pups found clinging to dead mothers. “These orphans will slowly die of heat
stress, starvation or predation if they aren’t found.
“We also found countless adults who couldn’t withstand the heat in areas of the
colonies that were hotter - like trees with less foliage and shade coverage,
and the baking hot clay of the riverbank.”
Despite the best efforts of dedicated volunteers, thousands died in the heat.
Researchers were still tallying the dead, estimating at least 1,000 - 2,000
flying foxes died in South Australia, thousands in Victoria, and up to 1,000 in
New South Wales.
“Temperatures over 42 degrees are known to cause mortality in flying foxes,
sometimes at biblical scales,” said Prof Justin Welbergen, an expert in flying
foxes at Western Sydney University.
The loss of life in last week’s heatwave was the “most significant mass
mortality event” since 2019-20, he said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
