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.
It is not unusual for us to have a small number of orphans in care during the winter months. Here are Diva and Domino, two of the ten little red flying-fox orphans that our members are currently hand-raising. Domino (5 weeks of age) is shy and well-behaved compared to his ‘sister’ who is two weeks older. Diva is a hyperactive busybody who thinks she has far more important things to do than taking a nap! When they are old enough, Domino and Diva will join the other orphans in a large flight aviary to dehumanize, socialize and practice their flying skills prior to release.![]()
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Birthing season for little red flying-foxes is around April/May - which is about six months later than other flying-fox species which birth in spring. The reddish-brown colouring of little reds is quite distinctive. They are also relatively small. Adult little reds weigh around 4-500gms/14-17ozs, which is approximately half the weight of the other three Australian flying-fox species.![]()
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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 love sun and the vitamin D is essential for them. Here is Wiggles, who you met earlier this week, enjoying some sun with two late orphans. At first, Wiggles soaked up the sun while lying down. Later he could hang. We *love* seeing the bats we care for improve like this. ❤![]()
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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.
Wiggles is a subadult black flying fox who we rescued in mid-April suffering from flying fox paralysis syndrome (FFPS). After two weeks of intensive care, he moved to a flight aviary to continue his rehab. Victims of FFPS typically take three or more months to fully recover.![]()
The paralysis affects their ability to blink, swallow and use their tongue and wings. Here is Wiggles early on focussing really hard to swallow as best he can. This wiggly tongue movement is how he got his name. See his swallowing improve to the point he reaches with his thumb saying, “more please”. ![]()
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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.
Precious is an eastern horseshoe bat, a species which we do not receive into care very often. Usually they roost in caves, abandoned mines and various other dark places. Precious made her home in a shed, where she had been observed living happily for quite some time. One day the shed owners found her struggling on the ground with nasty injuries to her thumbs and kindly called us for help. ![]()
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Finding the right humidity level to keep Precious comfortable presented a challenge for her carer, but she has now settled into her temporary imitation ‘bat cave’. Her carer also reports that Precious has the most deplorable table manners. Watching this little ‘lady’ dispatch mealworms in all their gooey glory is not for the fainthearted!![]()
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We have selected the least revolting footage of Precious at dinnertime to show a close-up of her interesting horseshoe-shaped nose-leaf, for which the species is named. ![]()
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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 gorgeous girl is Batricia, a black flying fox. She was spotted one night on a wheelie bin in a back yard. Thanks to the caring residents who called us to help her and for her clever name.![]()
Batricia was showing signs of pain. Big thanks to the wildlife vet team at RSPCA QLD for a thorough check, which revealed no fractures, phew! This check confirmed Batricia is pregnant, as we expect nearly all adult black and grey-headed flying fox girls to be at this time of year. Her baby was right over on one side, possibly causing her discomfort. Batricia managed to eat from a hammock until she was pain-free enough to continue her recovery in a flight aviary. You can see her here looking around just before we took her for release. ![]()
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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 balconies, courtyards can be confusing traps for flying foxes. Deliciosa is a young black flying fox who ended up in a walled courtyard. There wasn’t room to spread her wings and gain elevation to fly out. She’d been flying back and forward, bumping into things, trying to find a way out so was exhausted and bruised.![]()
If you have a balcony or courtyard you can help bats by providing something they can climb to escape. Bats climb by hooking their claws onto the surface so timber or a thick fabric is ideal. They can’t climb glass, metal, concrete or other smooth, hard surfaces.![]()
Deliciosa is enjoying some R&R with other bats. We’re looking forward to releasing her back to the wild soon.![]()
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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.
Spitfire earned her name because of her feisty temperament. She was found face down on the ground on an island in Moreton Bay. By the time she was rescued and put on a ferry to be collected by her final carer, Spitfire was in no mood for pleasantries. Poor darling is just a juvenile and was terrified. After a night’s rest in bed, her carer gave her lots of choice, as you can see here – papaw, banana, grapes and juice – to help her feel safer and calmer. This did settle her and she has now joined the other bats in a flight aviary to enjoy more gourmet delights while she recovers.![]()
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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.
Did you know? When a flying fox eats fruit, they chew it up, crush it against the roof of their mouth with their tongue, swallow the juice, then spit out a lump of pulp, skin and seeds. This lump is called a “spat”. Flying foxes are important ecologically as seed dispersers and this is one way they spread seeds.![]()
Eminem is an adult black flying fox who was found hanging low to the ground. He seemed a bit dazed so had possibly had a head knock. Here he is with some grape spat.![]()
Eminem is now in a flight aviary recuperating nicely.![]()
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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.
When a flying fox is relaxed, they hang by one leg, tuck the other leg across their body, then wrap their wings around themselves. This is also how they sleep.![]()
We were amused when newly-rescued Wylie adopted this position in an ICU. He was not one-legged hanging, but “one-legged lying”.![]()
He was rescued from a 4th level balcony in an inner urban area. Unfortunately, balconies trap many young flying foxes like Wylie, especially when there are plants on them.![]()
Next day, Wylie discovered the delights of banana and lychee. He’s well on the way to recovery and will be released soon.![]()
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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 youngster, named Allure, was out foraging one night when she became snagged on a discarded fishing lure that had been left in a tree. The lure had triple hooks at each end. All three at one end were through Allure’s mouth and one of the other three was through her wing. Ouch! Fishing tackle (lures, hooks and/or fishing line) is a far too common hazard to wildlife that live in or visit trees. Potential victims of this cruel fate include flying-foxes, birds, gliders and possums. Please retrieve any fishing tackle that becomes snagged in trees. Thank you so much to the vet team at Our Vet Capalaba for their surgical expertise tidying up the wound to Allure’s mouth. As soon as she is fully healed, we will 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.