What do I do if I found an injured Bat or Flying Fox?

Gloves are highly recommended when handling injured bats as they bite and scratch vigorously.

Grab them behind the head but do not restrict breathing. Wrap the animal loosely in a cloth, allowing the head and hind legs to stick out. Place the animal in a cage or box with a mesh or sticks on top, so the animal can hang around comfortably during transport.

One has to be quite careful when handling these types of animals as there is a risk of lyssavirus infection if bitten or scratched by an infected bat. The threat of infection occurs when saliva or blood from an infected animal comes in contact with broken skin.

Smaller insectivorous bats should be transported in a cloth bag but keep them away from extreme temperatures and noise.

Caution - Bats and Flying Foxes may carry the lyssavirus. Use Gloves when handling an injured animal.

Species Information

Bats & Flying Foxes (General)

Bats and Flying Foxes are similar to humans in that they are placental mammals. This means that they do not have pouches like marsupials and give birth to well developed young (pups).

The young hang on to their mother with their mouth wings and feet while Mum supports them with her wing.

There are two main species of bats:-

• Microbats - feed mainly on insects. They are smaller than flying foxes and have very small eyes.
• Megabats - feed on fruit and nectar. They are larger in size and have large eyes.

Habitat

• Flying Foxes and bats are common in Tropical North Queensland. Some species are solitary whilst others (like Flying Foxes) roost in colonies during the day and forage for food at night.

Diet

• Microbats feed on insects which they locate using their sonar.
• Flying Foxes feed on nectar, fruits, both native and introduced i.e. mangoes.
• During mango season, the noisy "squabbles" of flying foxes can be heard in suburbia as they feed on the mangoes.

The Tolga Bat Hospital is a fantastic resource for bat care information.