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.
This little red flying-fox, named Bob, somehow found his way into a local hardware store. After a quick circuit of the undercover landscape supplies section, he settled high above an aisle where he spent the day admiring the merchandise.![]()
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Just before closing time, a team of our local volunteers gathered to make the tricky rescue attempt. Capturing a mobile flying-fox in a large area full of obstacles was a challenge! The risk was that Bob could easily dodge the rescue poles and venture beyond reach elsewhere in the building. There was also a barbed wire fence directly outside the only possible exit point that Bob could get caught on. ![]()
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The BCRQ team stationed themselves in various locations to guide Bob towards the exit. The rescue attempt succeeded, after some clever wrangling by our pole experts! Fortunately, Bob had no injuries at all from his adventure. Before release back to the wild, Bob was taken into short-term care for observation - which gave him the opportunity to work on his own rather messy DIY cage redecoration project. We are very grateful to everyone involved in Bob’s shopping expedition. 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.
We have a tropical cyclone forecast to be heading right towards us. 🌀 (These dangerous storms are known as hurricanes or typhoons in the northern hemisphere.)![]()
Flying foxes normally fly out from their camps every evening to forage for food. In very strong winds, they are known to stay put and even move down lower in trees. They can survive a few days without food and will be able to drink by licking rain water off their bodies.![]()
You met the lovely Lana when she was a tiny newborn baby. Now she’s one month old and showing you how flying foxes hang on even when branches are swinging in the wind.![]()
Here's hoping all the bats stay safe over the coming days.![]()
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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.
Remember the massive rescue of 180 white-striped freetail microbat pups and juveniles from a hollow inside a tree that fell over back in January?![]()
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Well, the labour of love continues for our microbat carers and those in other groups who are all sharing the workload. Saving this many lives is a mammoth effort.![]()
As the pups and juvies progress, their personalities are coming out and their antics are providing great delight and amusement for their carers. Splitz across the log anyone?![]()
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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.
Balsamic is an adult black flying fox rescued on the very tail end of the latest flying fox paralysis syndrome outbreak. His name is a tribute to the fact all the adult males are beautifully aromatic at this time as we approach mating season. Well, for some, it’s already started!![]()
The wildlife vet team at RSPCA QLD looked after Balsamic at first, including giving him IV fluids. Once with us, he’s taken longer than most to be able to eat solid food. His diet was smoothie and juice for quite some time, before he finally managed to munch on some banana.![]()
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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.
We’re delighted to say our first creche intake of hand raised orphaned flying foxes are in the wild, beginning their lives as crucial pollinators and seed dispersers.![]()
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One of them is Sarah, who was spotted hanging alone on a fence not far from a colony. She was around 8 weeks old and may have accidentally fallen off her mother shortly after her mum flew out for her night of foraging. Sarah’s mum would have desperately searched for her daughter but sadly was unable to find and retrieve her.![]()
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See how her early attempts at flapping were quite wonky, and how they quickly improved.![]()
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Thanks to the lovely caller who rang us to get help for Sarah, she’s now back in the wild. ❤![]()
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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.
We’ve had, not one, but two rescues in the last week of a flying fox entangled in a car grille. 😢![]()
Thanks to the wildlife vet team at RSPCA QLD for caring for both bats. Sadly, one had severe injuries and couldn’t be saved.![]()
The other, Gigi, is a lucky girl. Her injuries are milder and she will recover in time. She’s already in a flight aviary recuperating with other bats in care.![]()
As a driver, it’s often impossible to avoid colliding with an animal if it suddenly runs, or flies, out in front of you. What a driver does next is what matters. Both these drivers stopped and got help for the animal. We can’t thank you both enough for your humane and caring actions. ❤![]()
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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.
Like Madison, Coco is another victim of Flying Fox Paralysis Syndrome after the worst has passed. Both were rescued in February. Coco couldn’t swallow at all at first and you can see her here receiving life saving fluids via IV. A few days later she can gently lap smoothie from a syringe. And now she’s continuing to recover in a flight aviary.![]()
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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.
Ben is a juvenile black flying fox who was foraging in a back yard tree one night. This tree happened to be near the back doors of a house and these doors were wide open. Something startled Ben and he took off but he accidently flew straight into a house! He went into a couple of different rooms, trying to find his way out. The family dog came and sniffed him, but didn’t touch him, thankfully. Finally, he ended up hanging on a dining room table. Understandably this was very traumatising for poor Ben and he was a very scared young man when first rescued.![]()
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He was protective of his papaya stick, as you can see. He needed just one night in a hospital enclosure to ensure he was ok. Now he’s continuing to recover in a flight aviary with other flying foxes. This is exactly what he needs to help him get over his trauma. ![]()
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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 dear little two week old boy is Stu and he’s an indirect victim of Flying Fox Paralysis Syndrome. He was clinging to his mother, who was found on the ground in an advanced stage of this awful condition. Tragically it was too late to save Stu’s mum, but she continued to produce milk so Stu was in quite good condition.![]()
He’s now being hand-raised by one of our loving carers.![]()
Here he is having a look around while he enjoys his morning sun time.![]()
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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.
We are still seeing cases of flying fox paralysis syndrome trickle in, though thankfully not at the devastating level of December.![]()
Madison was considerably underweight and flies had laid thousands of eggs on her, because she couldn’t move her wings well enough to flick them away. But look at her now. ❤ She’s managing to nibble red papaya slices on a stick and is well on the way to recovery.![]()
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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.