October 10
The dangers and nuisance value of flying foxes is under the spotlight like never before after yet another Hendra virus scare in Queensland.
While the virus is famed for its effect on horses, it is the flying fox that is the primary carrier … and the bat haters are now out in force. The hendra virus has killed four people in Australia since 1994, and 21 horses already this year.
Of course, many grey nomads will be all too well aware of the noise and smell that a colony of flying foxes can generate … whether it be from a camping site they have stayed at, or from visiting popular destinations such as Mataranka Hot Springs just off the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. The Livistona palms near the thermal springs come alive with a huge Little Red flying fox colony for a few months nearly every year. As well as bat droppings making life unpleasant, apparently the sheer weight of large numbers of flying foxes hanging from them can cause hefty palm fronds to give way and fall. Look out below!
While the Hendra virus is grabbing all the headlines, the bats can spread other diseases, too. A Brisbane woman is now being treated for exposure to the deadly bat disease lyssavirus after being attacked by three flying foxes.
Local media reports that Carolyn Martin was hanging out a towel on her balcony when the bats struck. One wrapped itself around her ankle and the other two flew around her face. Ms Martin will now require a series of injections over four weeks to protect her from rabies and lyssavirus.
Last year, three men were treated for lyssavirus after being bitten on the head and ears by a flying fox at a park near the town of 1770, south of Gladstone.
Queensland’s chief veterinary officer Rick Symons says it is extremely rare for healthy bats to approach or attack humans but a flying fox infected with lyssavirus may be aggressive towards humans.
“Lyssavirus is within the bat population and, unlike Hendra virus, it affects the bats,” Dr Symons says. “It does make them sick and it can kill them. Sometimes they can get aggressive and attack people.”
While flying foxes are a protected species in Australia, many local authorities are calling for a change that will allow them to reduce the bat population.
Lockyer Valley Regional Council Mayor Cr Steve Jones told a meeting of councils on the Gold Coast that it was time something was done.
“These bloody things are vermin and they are being put above people,” Cr Jones said. “No one wants to wipe them out but keep the numbers down to proportions whereby the humans get a fair go.”
A motion, which called for the state to “introduce controls to immediately reduce flying fox populations and adopt a system that allows for the maintenance of those populations at a sustainable level”, was carried.
Flying foxes are nomadic animals that can travel up to 50km each night in search of food. With trees blossoming and fruit on the way, there are many anxious people wondering just where and when flying foxes may set up camp this season.
