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.
Facebook Posts
This cute face is that of a survivor. Emmett was rescued at just 12 weeks old, meaning he was born in mid-April, a very out-of-season baby. This puts him at a disadvantage because he’s smaller than the other juveniles and he hasn’t had much time to learn where the food sources are, and to build up some body fat, before the cold weather hits.
Emmett was doing ok until he was chased by some birds and flew into a fence. Thank you to the caring person who found him and called us.
We are impressed by this gutsy little guy. When he first moved to a flight aviary, he stood up for himself most firmly and, on his first night, a time when most newbies hang back and cautiously watch what the other bats do, Emmett found the dish of banana smoothie straight away and was unfazed by big adults eating nearby.
Go little Emmett! We’re confident you’ll do well when we release you for your second go 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.
Emmanuel is a subadult black flying fox who was found crawling on a footpath beside a busy road so a bump by a car is a likely reason for why he was there. A check by the vet team at RSPCA QLD gave the wonderful news he had no broken bones. He was just bruised and sore.
His banana eating style is somewhere between Sheridan (frantically quaffing) and Wallaby (gently enjoying). He’s not taking the risk of letting go of the stick while he chews. 🙃
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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.
On a sunny winter’s morning, the al fresco diners at a coffee shop noticed a flying-fox on the grille of a car pulling into a parking space. The driver and one of the onlookers removed the bat themselves, wrenching her so roughly that they severely fractured one toe. Please never try to rescue a bat yourself. Our rescuers are trained in safely removing bats in these situations without injuring them.
A young lady named Bella working in the coffee shop was given the task of dealing with the injured bat. Bella was amazing. She safely contained the bat under a milk crate and called to get help. Bella the bat (who is named after her impressive caring saviour) is a young adult, about the same age as human Bella in equivalent years.
Thanks very much to the vet team at RSPCA QLD for a neat amputation of the broken toe. Bella had no other injuries. After multiple follow-up vet visits, Bella is now in the final stages of recovery in a flight aviary before we release her back to 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.
Ooley is an adult black flying-fox who found a fruiting guava tree in a suburban backyard. The tree was loosely covered in netting, but he had managed to climb under it without becoming entangled and started feasting. The lovely resident called us, concerned as Ooley stayed all day as well. Not surprisingly, he wasn’t impressed with being caught and taken away from his gourmet buffet!
Ooley stayed in care just one week, to make certain no injuries became apparent. Sorry Ooley, the party is over! The tree is now covered with wildlife-safe netting and secured low on the trunk. One of our volunteers returned later in the day to install this, a gift to the resident in exchange for us removing the old unsafe netting. She in turn donated some guavas for Ooley and his new friends in the aviary to enjoy.
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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.
On her way out to dinner one evening, one of our members (who also rescues other wildlife species) spotted a wallaby lying on the side of the road. She quickly pulled over to carry out a pouch check. Sadly, many kangaroos and wallabies lose their lives on Australia’s roads each day. However females may have a viable joey in their pouch which has survived the accident. The rescuer checked the wallaby and was just about to leave when a ‘black thing’ landed on the footpath nearby, flapping on the ground. She immediately realized this was a bat in trouble and she dashed to her car for gloves, towel and rescue basket.
Wallaby came into care with some nasty abrasions and holes in his wing membrane. He is very much a ladies’ man and likes to hang out with the girls in the aviary. Unlike shameless Sheridan (who was featured in a previous post) Wallaby is polite and charming, with impeccable table manners.
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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.
Some wildlife rescuers who volunteer with a Council service were in an inner city park when their daughter spotted a black thing on the ground under a huge fig tree. It was a cold, skinny young black flying-fox, around four months old, who she named Ashbat. They very kindly delivered Ashbat to one of our trauma carers.
Ashbat had some scuffs and grazes but is now gaining weight and recovering well. Being noticed by this observant young person certainly saved her life. 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.
Maria is a juvenile grey-headed flying-fox who was rescued early on a Sunday morning. She was found hanging on a grill security door, a little way up an arcade off a very leafy, tree-lined road. This road is closed every Sunday to accommodate market stalls. There were many people wandering around and stores were waiting to open, so rescuing Maria became an urgent matter.
We think Maria mistook reflections of trees from the street in a store window and flew into it. Then she managed to drag herself across the floor until she found something to climb. She had a nasty concussion. As you can see, Maria is doing well and is continuing her recovery 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.
Dear little Chicken is as cute as they come. She is yet another 4 month old black flying fox that we’ve rescued in the last couple of months. Chicken was out foraging one night when she didn’t see a barbed wire fence near the tree she was in and became entangled. This was a security fence at a chicken factory outlet.
Barbed wire in commercial and industrial areas is especially dangerous for wildlife because, if the area is deserted on the weekends, an animal could become entangled on Friday night and not be seen til Monday morning. 😢 If you live or travel near any areas like this, please consider checking the barbed wire fences over the weekend if you can.
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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.
A kind person saw Denny, an adult grey-headed flying fox, drag himself off a road, crawl across a footpath, then climb and hang from a fire hydrant marker. Thanks so much for calling to get him help. ❤
The most likely cause is that he was bumped by a car. Luckily he has no serious injuries though he was pretty sore at first. Watch him as he starts to feel better and his lapping goes from slow and tentative to more confident to I can do this myself! And I’m not messy at all!
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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.
Icicle, a juvenile black flying-fox, was rescued on a cold night opposite an inner city park. She was called in more than once (it makes our hearts sing to know that there are multiple caring people in our community ❤). One of the kind-hearted callers covered her with a box to keep her safe and marked it so well there was no way our rescuer wouldn’t find her!
Our trauma carer, who assessed Icicle, was very concerned how cold she was. Icicle received immediate treatment and was popped into a lovely warm portable ICU. On the way home our carer diverted to attend another rescue. Some hours later when she finally arrived home, she was surprised to see that Icicle was very lively and bouncing around as if to say “I’m warm now and feel great. What were you worried about?”
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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.