Learn to be batty

An Eastern Horseshoe Microbat, which was in the care of WIRES.

WIRES bat co-ordinator Lib Ruytenberg is fascinated by bats.

“They have amazing faces and they are so intelligent,” Lib said. “Some of them have faces that only a mother can love. People don’t get to see them up close normally because they are nocturnal animals.”

Lib is a volunteer carer with the Wildlife Information Rescue and Emergency Service and looks after flying foxes and microbats. Last year, WIRES cared for 150 flying foxes and 20 microbats.

Lib said a lot of calls to WIRES were about microbats that had been trapped in people’s houses.

“They are often not injured, and can be relocated outside somewhere. Some have also been attacked by cats,” she said.

Lib said microbats are so small some people think they are moths when they see them against the street lights. Some microbats weigh only 10 grams and are the size of a mouse; when they spread their wings, they are the size of a swallow. There are 32 species of microbats on the North Coast and 19 of them are listed as endangered or vulnerable.

Microbats live in small groups and can be found in trees, in ceiling spaces or under houses on timber beams where it is dry. Some have been found behind paintings or living in Drizabone pockets. Lib said she received a call on the WIRES hotline last week from someone who found some living in their piano.

Lib advised that people shouldn’t handle bats unless they have been vaccinated against the Lyssa virus, which bats have been known to carry.

“Incidents of humans catching the virus are uncommon, but people should call a local wildlife organisation so that a vaccinated carer can come and deal with the bat.”

Lib said, while fruit growers sometimes get upset about the damage bats can do to their crops as they feed on the fruit, flying foxes were actually predominately nectar and blossom feeders and preferred eucalypts, melaleucas and banksias.

“The reason they are targeting fruit is because of habitat loss,” Lib said. “There is only 1% of the Big Scrub rainforest left – and that is crucial habitat for flying foxes.”

Lib said people could plant more trees that bats like such as tallowwood and forest gum, which were the same trees koalas like to eat.

“Bats are our flying gardeners; without them we wouldn’t have our rainforests,” Lib said. “They have a flying range of 20 kilometres when they are looking for food sources and they are responsible for pollinating trees and dispersing seeds.”

Lib said the rewards of being a carer for WIRES are about being able to release orphaned and injured wildlife back into the wild.

“You have a link with the environment it’s not just about wildlife, but about the bigger picture,” she said.

She joined WIRES after she saw a carer who had a baby flying fox and wanted to look after them herself.

“When you are raising orphaned flying foxes, you realise they are intelligent, interesting and have fascinating personalities,” Lib said. “You become their primary care giver and they want to be with you and snuggle close to your body. They are the only example of wildlife where it is beneficial for the animal to form a bond with its human carer.”

Libs said, just like human children, the minute the bats are put into the release aviary, they act just like teenagers and are interested only in their own kind and don’t want to cling to their human carer any more.

“You can get sad and teary, but that means you have done your job and they have grown up,” Lib said.

WIRES will be holding a Rescue and Immediate Care Course on September 18 and 19 at Southern Cross University. For more information or to book a place, phone the WIRES hotline on 6628 1898.

You can learn what to do when you first find an injured animal and you can get involved with rescuing or caring for animals, or even help out on the WIRES hotline. The volunteers of WIRES are happy to accept whatever level of commitment anyone can offer.