ABOUT BAT CONSERVATION AND RESCUE QLD
Bat Conservation and Rescue Qld
is a registered not-for-profit volunteer organization that strives to help people understand the importance
of all bat species, to provide a prompt and humane rescue service, to raise orphans and to rehabilitate injured bats before returning them to the wild.
BCRQ offers this free 24/7 community service all year round including public holidays.
I HAVE FOUND A BAT
SEEK HELP – PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH BATS!
CALL OUR RESCUE HOTLINE ON 0488 228 134
If a bat bites or scratches a human, it may have to be destroyed and sent for testing for Australian Bat Lyssavirus – do not risk the bat’s life or your health. Only people trained and Rabies vaccinated should handle bats.
A flying-fox hanging on overhead power lines may still be alive. Even if dead, it may be a mother with a live baby tucked up under her wing. Please call BCRQ immediately.
If you find a flying-fox caught on a barbed wire fence, please very carefully and without touching it, throw a towel over the bat to help keep it calm. Then call BCRQ immediately.
If you find a flying-fox caught in fruit tree netting, do not try and cut the bat out of the net but call BCRQ immediately.
If the bat is on the ground, please cover the bat with a cardboard box or a washing basket to contain it and call BCRQ immediately.
Any bat by itself through the day is in trouble.
Keep children and pets away from the bat to help minimise its stress and remember, NO TOUCH NO RISK!
HOW YOU CAN HELP
BECOME A MEMBER
Join as an active or associate member. BCRQ offers free training to members.
MAKE A DONATION
Donate via GoGive, Bank Transfer or PayPal.
All donations of $2.00 and over are tax deductible.
Bart is an adult black flying fox who was seen on the front chain wire fence of a caring couple’s yard. By the time our rescuers arrived, Bart had climbed a flowering red bottlebrush and a pole with a net on the end was needed to catch him.![]()
His shoulder was terribly sore so we were pleasantly surprised when a check by the wildlife vet team at RSPCA QLD showed no broken bones. We think Bart was probably bumped by a vehicle as he flew out after feeding on the nectar in the bottlebrush flowers.![]()
He’s been gradually improving and is now in a flight aviary recovering with other flying foxes.![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.
This beautiful grey-headed flying fox is called Tuna. She was found on the ground looking very sad and sorry for herself. Thanks to RSPCA QLD for days of intensive care to get her to a point she could go to a carer. Tuna, who is pregnant, had very limited use of her legs, which we attribute to spinal bruising. It’s been a slow process, and she has quite a way to go yet, but she is gradually regaining the ability to use her legs in a natural way. Here she is scratching and cleaning herself. It must be bath time for all. Some of the bats behind Tuna are also having a wash.![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.
Barbed wire is an awful hazard for nocturnal wildlife as it is invisible to them. Nocturna is a young grey-headed flying fox who didn’t see a barbed wire fence and became entangled just below one wrist. It will be a long road to recovery for him but we’re hopeful he’ll get there.![]()
Please call in any bat you see entangled on barbed wire as, the sooner we get to them, the better chance they have of recovering from their injuries. If possible, mark the top strand with something to make the sharp barbs visible. White horse fence tape works very well.![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.
Burnley was found by some wonderful people who have only just arrived in Australia. They were surprised to see our bats are so big! Thank you so much for calling to get him help and for permission to use your brilliant videos.![]()
Burnley had both ends of a fishing lure through his left wing. That’s six hooks altogether. ☹ See our amazing rescuers catch Burnley then remove the hooks. Learn why petite women buy big bolt cutters. ![]()
Burnley’s injuries will heal but just a week earlier in almost the same inner city riverside location we rescued a pregnant black flying fox caught by her mouth on a fishing hook. Tragically, her injuries were too severe and she couldn’t be saved.![]()
Did you notice Burnley’s right eye looks cloudy? Big thanks to the wildlife vet team at RSPCA QLD for checking his eye and giving him the all clear.![]()
To people who fish, if you get your tackle snagged in a tree, it’s essential you retrieve it. Hooks, lures and fishing line left in the environment cause untold injury and suffering to many different species of wildlife.![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.
The December 2024 outbreak of flying-fox paralysis syndrome (FFPS) was the most devastating we’ve ever seen, both in terms of geographic area affected and number of bats impacted. Coinciding with annual orphan season, our volunteers were stretched to the limit. However, we saved the lives of over 200 flying-foxes, and we’re delighted to share footage of some of these bats returning to the wild. ![]()
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We are extremely grateful to our supporters who donated to help us cover the large extra cost of feeding these bats while they remained in care for many months. Our heartfelt appreciation also to WIRES (Wildlife, Information, Rescue and Education Service) and IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) for financial assistance. THANK YOU!![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.
“Licking his wounds” is more than an idiom for young Ellery. He was foraging in a backyard tree one night when the resident’s dog grabbed him. He’s very lucky that the dog released him and the resident called to get him help. Thank you. ❤ A check by the wildlife vet team at RSPCA QLD revealed the wonderful news that Ellery has no broken bones, just bloodied and sore wings. You can see him here licking his sore wings.![]()
Dog-bat interactions rarely have happy endings for the bat. The best way to avoid these tragedies is for dog owners to keep their dogs inside at night. If they need to go out, check the yard first for bats in trees. Another option is to trim the branches of all your trees above the height that your dog can jump.![]()
Ellery is continuing his recovery in a flight aviary with other flying foxes. We’ll release him as soon as he’s fully recovered.![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.
Flying foxes are social animals and spend their days hanging together in camps, also called colonies or roosts. Our larger species, the black, grey-headed, and spectacled flying-foxes like a bit of personal space while being social. Not so little red flying-foxes! They hang together in close bunches. No personal space for them, as little red orphans, Dot and DC, show you here. Not even when you invert to do your business, as DC discovered.![]()
These two cuties are now ready to go on to the next step on their road to being wild bats pollinating our forests for us.![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.
It is a miracle that the excavator driver spotted these eight tiny bats on the ground while their culvert was being removed. Without touching, they were carefully transferred into a box for our volunteer to collect. As none of the bats were injured, they were released together back into their home territory (it is highly likely that they have alternative roost sites in the area). Fortunately, the disturbance at this site occurred outside of pup season so there were no little ones to worry about. Our thanks to the excavator driver involved.![]()
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Large-footed myotis, also known as fishing bats, rake their feet along the surface of water hunting for prey such as small fish and aquatic insects. They roost near water sources in a variety of places including manmade stormwater structures (i.e. box culverts or pipes) that are at least 900mm in height or diameter. A routine inspection of these structures by a suitably qualified person should be carried out during the project planning phase. This would ensure any resident microbats can be accommodated and the impact on their roost is minimised. ![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.
Nautilus is a young black flying fox who got himself stuck in a narrow space between a house and a tree-lined fence and couldn’t find his way out. He has a few scrapes but we’re confident he’ll recover quickly and be back in the wild before long.![]()
He found banana very much to his liking when he first arrived in care. Isn’t he the cutest?![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.
Sadly, we’ve had yet another recent netting rescue.![]()
Zok was rescued out of a net strung across a dam at a small lettuce farm. They thought it would keep ducks away.![]()
Zok was called in to us by a caring person who saw him from a back street. To rescue him, we needed to enter the farm. Huge thanks to the rescue team at RSPCA QLD who came to assist, as they can enter when we can’t. Tragically another bat lost its life in the net.![]()
Zok has injuries to his mouth and cheeks from desperately trying to chew himself free. We’re delighted to say they are healing nicely. We plan to replace the unsafe netting with Hailguard for this farmer.![]()
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If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE BAT and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds, or your local wildlife rescue in other regions.