A brutal heat wave in Australia kills bats while they sleep

Flying foxes

Image - IGN.com

While in the Northern Hemisphere we still have a little left to finish the winter, in Australia the trees are filling with dead giant bats. The reason?

A brutal heat wave that is leaving temperatures of more than 45 degrees Celsius in the southeast of the continent, as in Singleton, which is too much for these animals.

The Australian giant bat or flying fox, is part of the suborder Megachiroptera, which is made up of species of bats that can reach 40cm in length, 150cm in wingspan and exceed kilograms in weight. To survive, They feed on fruit or flower nectar, so they can always be found in or near trees, where they take the opportunity to rest and protect themselves from the sun.

However, the high temperatures that are being registered in Australia these days are putting in danger the already threatened species of the Australian giant bat, who dies while sleeping. There is one that remains there, hanging from the branch, due to rigor mortis, another falls to the ground.

Temperatures in Australia

This situation has been so surprising that various photos and videos have been uploaded to social networks. The authorities are striving to remove the bodies of these animals from the trees and have asked the neighbors not to touch them, since they carry diseases that are communicable to humans, such as rabies.

If this weren't enough, the east of the country is experiencing one of the worst fire waves in recent history, endangering Australian flora and fauna.

Note: In order not to hurt the sensitivity of the reader, it has been chosen not to include the images of the dead bats. In case you want to watch a video, you can click here.


Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Miguel Ángel Gatón
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.

      David said

    It appears that Australian bats are suffering from the rigors of heat and climate change. The human being, who has air conditioning, seems not to want to realize the gravity of this issue. Thus, a multitude of "deniers" of climate change have emerged today, which we could summarize in the following types:
    1.- Climate change does not exist.
    2.- Climate change exists but it is not caused by humans.
    3.- Climate change exists but they are causing it by manipulating the climate with Haarp antennas (conspiracy theory)
    4.- Climate change exists, it is irreversible and we can do nothing.
    All these kinds of "denial" come up with a single idea, which is to "sit" and wait like Australian bats that perish on a branch and cannot do anything to combat the heat.
    In the face of all these inactivity approaches, we have an accurate and courageous thought, based on the action of measures linked to curbing greenhouse gas emissions. It is clear the link between the curves of temperature increase and the amount of C02 emitted since there are records. But at present there is another hopeful curve for our species and many others. This curve is none other than the growth in quantity and improvement in the performance of renewable energies and electric vehicles. If we look at the development curve that is taking place in this regard, due to its similarity to the previous ones, we would realize that life today and the survival of our species are the biggest and best «suspense movie». I don't think I need to go to the movies, or read a book, or go to the theater. The tension of the plot of this story has me totally shocked.