What We Fight For
Flying foxes are a Keystone species, this means that the entire ecosystem would be different or cease to exist without them. In this case, our beloved flying fox are excellent pollinators and seed dispersers, helping to ensure the health, regeneration and genetic diversity of our Australian forests and hardwood trees. Flying foxes naturally feed off of the pollen and nectar from blossoms and the fruits of rain forest trees. Many of the trees flying foxes feed from are only receptive to pollination at night, the birds and the bees are asleep, and the flying foxes are hard at work as they travel across our beautiful landscape.
A flying fox will travel up to 80km from their roost at night, while they are out foraging, they feed on and consume the sweet nectar from native blossoms (melaleucas, banksias, eucalypts), the pollen sticks to their fur on their belly and face and will rub off from flower to flower, tree to tree, thus pollinating the flowers as they travel. When a flying fox consumes native fruit, they process their food rather quickly, as they are highly mobile while travelling at night, they defecate and are able to disperse seeds both locally and over great distances. Seeds have a higher chance of thriving when they are dispersed and are able to germinate some distance from their parent tree.
Providing these ecological services, flying fox are able ensure the health and genetic diversity of what little forest we have left, in turn providing timber, carbon exchange, water catchments, and valuable habitat for other animals who rely on native forests in order to survive. For example, without our flying foxes, we would not have the beautiful eucalypt forest our koalas depend upon for food and housing.
Microbats on the other hand are excellent at insect control. A small microbat can consume up to half of its body weight while foraging at night, this roughly translates to about 500 mosquitos per hour! Microbats can help to control pest insects which affect crops and decimate certain insects responsible for carrying diseases like malaria.
Rescue
Stonedeaf Wildlife Townsville provides a dedicated rescue service for bats in need across the North Queensland region. Based in Townsville, Stonedeaf Wildlife has vaccinated rescuers who will travel the coast from Ingham to Ayr and west to Charters Towers. Stonedeaf Wildlife can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when a bat is in need of assistance.
Any bat alone in the day is at the minimum in need of a well being check, we can offer advice on the situation and hands on assistance when necessary. A member of the public should NEVER touch or handle a bat, this keeps both the member of the public and the bat safe and sound. Bats can find themselves in need of rescue for all kinds of reasons, some of which are barb wire entanglement, domestic animal attack, hit by car, orphaned young, the list goes on.
If you see a bat in need of help, don’t delay, call us ASAP today!
Rehabilitation
Working under the Queensland Government, Department of Environment’s - Code of Practice: Care of Sick, Injured or Orphaned Protected Animals in Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992, Stonedeaf Wildlife has successfully rehabilitated 100+ animals over a range of species.
Stonedeaf Wildlife has the resources, skills and knowledge to rehabilitate bats under the Code of Practice framework when a bat finds themselves in need. Most commonly Stonedeaf Wildlife rehabilitates orphaned baby flying fox, meeting all of their needs in order for them to grow into healthy, strong, releasable animals.
Stonedeaf Wildlife also takes on injured bats, predominately from barb wire entanglements. Stonedeaf Wildlife carers have the ability to triage and supply first aid to these animals, as well as having long term rehabilitation facilities in order to get these bats flying high, back in the wild, as soon as possible. Stonedeaf Wildlife works closely with a local vaccinated vet who is able to provide consultations and long term, expert medical care when needed.
Stonedeaf Wildlife has a large incubator, multiple creche cages, medical supplies and the appropriate milk formulas, food and supplements to ensure the needs of all bats are met while in the rehabilitation stage.
Release
Stonedeaf Wildlife has proudly released 100+ animals who have successfully been rescued and rehabilitated by our carers, to continue on in their important ecological roles for our environment. Notably, Stonedeaf Wildlife members have taken on large amounts of animals/pups from the Townsville and Ingham heat stress events and the Rockhampton pup abandonment event that occurred recently, as well as individual bats who were rescued and rehabilitated from barb wire entanglement, domestic animal attacks, hit by car and those young who have found themselves orphaned or abandoned.