Running hot and cold: Good for some, not so good for others

A photograph of baby flying foxes rescued during a fatal heat event. The babies are resting in a basket.
A basket of rescued flying fox pups (bubs in Australia). See more about the rescue on Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown's Facebook page.

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I had a great one. The reason it was so awesome was because I had a “snow day” on Monday. That’s right, they cancelled school for the day because there was a possibility of freezing rain! I got to sleep in and watch TV. ? And do you know what makes that snow day even better? Thanks to that day, I will not need to go to school for an entire 5 day week at all in January!!! That’s right. There are “teacher work days” scheduled for the end of the month. Personally, I believe I could get used to this sort of thing.

And now for the bat news…It is not good news. If fact, it is very sad news. As you all know, Australia is experiencing summer while we are experiencing winter. On the 7th, a very bad heatwave hit south eastern Australia. This is causing a lot of the flying-foxes to die of extreme heat exposure. The temperatures in Australia have hit record highs of 42-43 degrees C. For those of us in the US, that translates to 107-109 degrees F. In Sydney, the temperature got as high as 45 degrees C (113 degrees F). The poor bats can’t handle that kind of heat combined with the high humidity.

As soon as they noticed the bats dying, volunteers began monitoring the bat colonies in Campbelltown, Parramatta Park, Yarramuni, South Creek, and Emu Plains. Bats were dying by the hundreds and volunteers raced to help those who could be saved. Volunteers rushed more than 40 young flying-foxes into critical care. Sadly, they were unable to save them all. Another day, volunteers braved the heat to save hundreds of little pups who have been rehydrated and reunited with their moms.

In addition to all the bats being saved, volunteers have also rescued other animals. I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of the amazing volunteers who worked in the heat to save these animals. They may not be able to verbalize it, but the critters are certainly grateful for all your hard work.

If you would like to read more about this very sad situation, you can read about it here and here:   .

 

 

 

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