The Year of the Bat 2011 - 2012

PLEASE DO NOT HANDLE ANY FLYING FOXES / FRUIT BATS.
If you see or find a flying fox (dead or alive), please contact the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
Phone: 8336 0926 or Email: FlyingFoxWatch@sa.gov.au

This beautiful bat must not be handled as it may carry ABLV (Australian Bat Lyssavirus). Lyssavirus is a rabies-associated virus. There have been only 2 confirmed cases of Australian Bat Lyssavirus within the past 15 years.

What to do if you find a bat...

1. Phone Us For Advice
   We can help you assess whether the bat actually needs rescuing or not.
   If the bat does not need rescuing, we can advise you of the steps to allow for the safe return of the bat, back to the wild after dusk.
   Encouraging Microbats to Leave Your Home - Bat Rescue Inc. - Queensland
   Bats & People - Bat Conservation International
   BATS - how did we get it so wrong? - Australian Fauna Care
2. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GIVE ANY FLUIDS OR FOOD TO THE BAT.
   THE BAT MAY BE IN SHOCK AND OFFERING FLUIDS OR FOOD COULD BE FATAL TO THE BAT.

What to do if you are bitten or scratched by a bat...

1. Clean The Bite Site
   Wash the area IMMEDIATELY with soap and water for at least five minutes.
   DO NOT SCRUB THE WOUND.
2. Use Antiseptic
   Apply Betadine (Povidone-Iodine) or any antiseptic solution to the area and contact your GP or seek other medical attention IMMEDIATELY as the Rabies Vaccine needs to be commenced/administered on the day the bite occurred.
3. Make Contact
   Contact the Department of Health - Communicable Diseases Branch on Telephone: 1300 232 272.
4. More Information
   Further information can be accessed at Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
   www.health.sa.gov.au
   ...and...
   www.ausbats.org.au

Microbats

What do Microbats look like? Take a look at our Microbat Pictures or Microbat Videos

Microbats are nocturnal. They are warm-blooded, placental mammals. They live in tree-hollows, under loose/exfoliating bark, in old sheds, in caves, and also co-exist with humans in their homes, for example, in roof spaces and wall linings. Microbats are our natural pest-controllers, eating many hundreds of insects each night during the warmer months of the year. In the cooler months, between May to August, our bats go into torpor, similar to hibernation. They must not be disturbed during these cooler months. If they are disturbed, they can lose their precious fat storage/supplies that they have built up ready for their slumber, and possibly die as a consequence.

Ghost Bat Photos

Macroderma gigas - Ghost Bat. Zoos SA (Adelaide Zoo) Conservation Programme.
All pictures by David Mattner.

Southern Bent-wing Bat (Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii) from the Naracoorte Caves

Critically Endangered throughout Australia and Endangered within South Australia

Larger version of these images are available in our user contributed picture gallery.

Grey-Headed Flying Foxes

Grey-Headed Flying Foxes have undergone a substantial population decline over their traditional range along the eastern coast of Australia in the past 15 years, decreasing by about one-third. They are considered threatened nationally and are a protected species in South Australia. Flying Foxes/Fruit Bats are important rainforest pollinators and seed dispersers. The Grey-Headed Flying Fox can fly between 40 & 60 kilometres per night in search of food.

Visit the large camp of mother-raised Grey-Headed Flying Foxes at Gorge Wildlife Park, Redden Drive, Cudlee Creek, Telephone: 8389 2206 - www.gorgewildlifepark.com.au

Smaller camp of mother-raised Grey-Headed Flying Foxes can be visited at Urimbirra Wildlife Park, Adelaide Road, Victor Harbor, Telephone: 8554 6554 - www.urimbirra.com

FLYING FOXES CAN BITE AND SCRATCH AND THEREFORE MUST NOT BE HANDLED.
Only immunised wildlife professionals and bat carers are to handle any bat (microbat or megabat). Please however, enjoy viewing them from a distance.

A special thank you to Terry Reardon, SA Museum for his photographs on this page and throughout the site. Also, special thanks to the Tothill Family for the use of the header image for the site of the colony of Lesser Long-Eared Bats.

A special thank you also to the Veterinarians and Vet Nurses at the Adelaide Zoo, Dr Phillip Ritchie (Grange Veterinary Clinic) and Dr Trudy Seidel (Para Hills Veterinary Clinic) for their dedication to the bats of Adelaide.

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