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 Bank Transfer or PayPal.
All donations of $2.00 and over are tax deductible.
Sign up for our newsletter
Facebook Posts
This sweetie is Kim. Kim is around six to seven weeks old, so her mum would leave her behind in a creche tree beside her camp while she went out foraging at night. Kim’s mum knew she was safe there with other older babies, who were also too big now to cling on to their mothers while they flew.
Sadly, something happened to Kim’s mum and she was unable to return. Baby Kim called and called for her mother until human Kim heard her and realised this wasn’t right.
She was about 6m high in a thick mangrove out over water so access was from a bridge. Our rescuers used a pole taped to another pole with a net on the end which reached Kim, but she was scared and didn’t know we were there to help so she moved away.
After many attempts, we called in the Fire Service. They had no suitable equipment given the awkward situation. However one of the young firefighters, with a determination matched by ours, used our pole for one last try and he managed to catch Kim in the net and bring her down. Thank you, Daniel. ❤️
Thankfully Kim can now be raised as an orphan and released back to the wild when she’s ready.
Kim has not yet been adopted. We’d be very grateful if a lovely follower would consider symbolically adopting her. We request a donation of $95 AUD which is tax deductible in Australia. Please comment if you’d like to adopt little Kim.
If you see a bat on its own in the daytime, it needs help. 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 handsome boy is Shine, a baby black flying fox. Shine was spotted outside Shine health services by one of their staff. He was hanging off a drain pipe by himself looking quite miserable. Thankfully they knew something was wrong and gave us a call. We aren’t quite sure why Shine was by himself and what happened to his mum. We suspect she may have been electrocuted on overhead powerlines but we can’t say for sure. Shine was extremely scared and distressed when he first came into care but has now settled in. He is 7 weeks old so will spend a few more weeks with his carer before moving to crèche to be soft released.
A big thank you to Shine health services for not only spotting and calling in Shine, but for their extremely generous donation and sponsorship of Shine.
Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.
This dignified older lady is Mina, a black flying fox. Mina parked her baby somewhere safe before heading off to forage for the night. She flew in to feed on a tasty palm when her wing became badly entangled in a barbed wire fence. She struggled and struggled to free herself but just made the damage worse. Thankfully the business was open 24 hours and a worker spotted her and called us in. At 3am our rescuer was woken up to rescue Mina in the pouring rain. She managed to remove the barbs from Minas wing and get her off the fence. Heartbreakingly the rescuer could see that Mina was lactating but her baby was not with her. Mina spent a couple of weeks having her wing tended to before heading to the flight aviary to do the last of her healing. We were not able to save Minas baby but Mina herself will be released to have more babies in her future.
Our bats are all unique individuals and some take longer to adjust to care than others. Mina needed lots of mango smoothie to convince her that we meant her no harm.
A big thank you to Cortney for her generous sponsorship of Mina.
Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.
This sweet girl is Stormy, a baby black flying fox. Stormy was spotted by a member of the public by herself, trying to climb a tree. Thankfully the member of the public could see she was in trouble and gave us a call to assist. We aren’t sure what has happened to Stormy’s Mum but she has been named for the severe storms that led up to her rescue. Little Stormy was not in a good way when rescued, emaciated and with a badly broken thumb. Our senior trauma carer was able to get her stable but her thumb needed veterinary intervention. One of the generous vets we work with was able to pin Stormy’s thumb which is now healing up well. Stormy needed to wear a little dress to immobilise her sore thumb and prevent her from messing with it. Stormy will stay in our care until she is old enough to be soft released.
A big thank you to Christina, the member of the public who spotted Stormy, called in her rescue and who took the photo of her on the tree.
Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.
This budding mechanic is Battholomew, a baby black flying fox. Battholomew was heard calling for his mum around a truck mechanic during the day. Not knowing what he was and not thinking too much of it, the mechanics did not investigate the noise. The next day Battholomew would no longer be ignored and climbed under the truck the mechanics were working on. Thankfully they called us in to rescue him. Little Battholomew was less than 3 weeks old and absolutely filthy from being under the truck. He was very hungry, dehydrated and continued to call for his mum. We don’t know what happened to his mum but it was clear he had fallen from height or sustained some kind of impact. After a couple of days of warm bottles and cuddles with his carer, Battholomew settled and is now a happy and healthy baby. His injuries have healed up and he will be raised in our care until he is old enough to be soft released back out into the wild where he belongs.
A big thank you to Lily for symbolically adopting Battholomew for her dear friend Natisse.
Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.
Just a friendly reminder that bat taxidermy and skeletons are not ethical. Sadly we have seen a significant rise in bat taxidermy and skeletons as people become more interested in bats. Well meaning people purchase these unethical products as gifts or decorations. Sellers blatantly lie or are misled themselves, claiming they are ethically produced. Usually they say the bats are either found already passed or that the bats are bred in captivity to be used for taxidermy. Both of these scenarios are an impossibility for bats due to their biology. Occasionally you may find a relatively intact bat that has already passed but to find these fresh, completely intact and in large numbers is impossible. Breeding bats in captivity is extremely difficult, has high financial costs and requires specialist enclosures that do not exist where these bats are coming from. One of the most commonly seen bats in taxidermy is the beautifully coloured painted Woolly bat. This species is now listed as near threatened on the IUCN red list and this is a direct quote from the assessment ‘The decline is expected to continue due to a continuing rise in hunting that stems from increased demand of taxidermy ornaments worldwide.’
Please do not contribute to the unethical poaching of bats. And please, spread the word so other bat lovers don’t unknowingly buy these horrific products. If you want an option for an ethical bat gift, why not consider one of our orphan symbolic adoptions 🦇
Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.
Dear Brisbane friends,
Here's a wonderful opportunity to meet some of our orphans, see wild bats flying out at dusk, and learn more about how important bats are to the environment. 🦇💕
Have you considered adopting an orphan as a gift? We are delighted to invite symbolic adoption for these five dear little orphaned baby flying-foxes.
UPDATE: Thank you for your generosity. These babies have been adopted. Sadly we have more babies being rescued most days. If you would like to adopt an orphan, please feel free to message this page and let us know if you prefer a boy or a girl. Thank you. 🦇
We request a donation of $95 AUD which covers milk formula, teats and dummies, vet supplies, and later, fruit and High Protein Supplement.
We are more than happy to prepare your electronic adoption certificate in the name of someone you’d like to give a gift to. We will then email it to you to pass on, or email it direct to them. Just let us know. Or, of course, adopt for yourself!
As well as a certificate, you’ll receive another photo and we’ll tell you the story of how your baby came into our care. And we’d love you to give your orphan a name.
To symbolically adopt your orphan, please type ‘adopted’ in the comment box of the picture of the orphan you wish to adopt and we’ll be in touch.
In Australia, this donation is tax deductible. Thank you most sincerely.
This is Havarti, a baby black flying fox. Havarti’s rescue story is a saga spanning 3 days and multiple agencies! Havarti was heard calling, 15m high in a thick Chinese celtis tree. Havarti’s Mum would have parked him in this tree before going off to forage in the local area. Unfortunately something has happened to his mum and she has been unable to return. It’s incredibly lucky that the neighbour is an ecologist so she knew that he was a baby who needed help straight away. She wasn’t able to spot Havarti in the thick foliage so she had to wait for him to call again to pin point his location. One of our rescuers went out but her high rescue gear was not sufficient to reach him. She called in our high rescue volunteers who also couldn’t reach him due to his position and height. First thing the next morning we called in the fire service to see if they could assist with their rescue trucks. Unfortunately after much discussion, the access simply wasn’t wide enough for their truck and they could not assist. We contacted the rspca who sent out a rescuer with a 10m pole. Despite our best efforts he was just not in a position in the tree that he could be caught with the net. Moving on to day 3, the rspca brought out the big guns. A 15m light weight pole with a collapsible net. Over night Havarti had moved to a better location and, to the immense relief of everyone, we were able to get him! He is skinny and dehydrated but we expect he will make a full recovery.
Special thanks to the member of the public who spent hours spotting Havarti and monitoring his location over the 3 days. And of course to the rspca who, like us, would not give up on getting Havarti down.
Thank you very much also to Ronnie and Reggie for adopting this special boy. Their generous donation will enable us to care for him and return him to the wild when he's ready.
Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.
This sweet little man is Gorgonzola (Gorgy for short), a baby black flying fox. Gorgy was discovered by the homeowner after she found her geese trying to eat him. She quickly locked up her geese and called us to rescue him. Poor little Gorgy was less than 2 weeks old and had multiple injuries from his run in with the geese. His wing was very sore and he had a concussion from a head knock. He had been away from his mum for at least a couple of days and was very skinny and dehydrated. Gorgy was touch and go for a number of days as his carer worked to get him stable. It has now been over 2 weeks since Gorgy’s rescue and he is doing well. His wing is healing up nicely and he is growing and putting on weight. He had a very rough start but little Gorgy has come through against all odds.
The first photo shows Gorgy now and the second shows him a couple of days after rescue.
Remember that any bat by itself during the day is in need of help. Don’t touch the bat and give us a call immediately on 0488 228 134 for Brisbane and surrounds or your local wildlife rescue for other regions.