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.
No age is a good age for a flying fox to discover the horrors of barbed wire, but it seems somehow more cruel when it’s a young bat. Brook is around six months old and she got caught on barbed wire while out foraging one night. Luckily for Brook, her injuries will heal but we dream of a world where this torture device – harsh? that’s what barbed wire is – is removed from the environment and banned.![]()
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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 were called to a rescue of a bat hanging on a fence and by the time we arrived, the bat was nowhere to be found. Three days later, we were called to a bat hanging on a chair on a patio just one street over. He was terribly thin, freezing cold and had an abscess on his chin. We believe this young boy, called Besham, is the same young bat who was struggling and we’re so glad we can help him. Once he was feeling better, he loved blackcurrant juice, even reaching past a banana kebab for the juice!![]()
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📣Please note 📣 the resident heard Besham land on the patio during the night. She thought he might fly off so didn’t call us until next evening when he was still there. We hear this from kind, caring people often. Please call immediately. Don’t wait. The sooner we rescue the bat, the better its chances of 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.
Saturn is a lucky young man. He was found in a back yard and the lovely resident called to get him help. He has a drippy eye and some minor injuries. It’s hard to say what caused them and luckily, he’s recovering well. He was a bit daunted by the usual welcome when he moved to a flight aviary so he found some branches to hide amongst. ![]()
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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.
How cute are Dolce and Donatella sharing nicely at their fruit smoothie station? Donatella, a grey-headed flying-fox, is healing from the injuries she received after becoming entangled on a barbed wire fence. Dolce is a different species - a little red flying-fox. She was grabbed by a predator (most likely a sea-eagle or powerful owl) which dropped her by accident into a school yard. When our rescuer arrived, Dolce was found on the ground covered in craft glue, as well as having bruises and claw marks from the predator attack. ![]()
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Despite their horrible experiences, both Donatella and Dolce are doing well and will be released when they have fully recovered. ![]()
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By the way, the insect you might spot on Donatella’s face is a common host-specific parasite called a batfly. These critters have an annoying habit of video bombing!![]()
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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.
Mandy is one of the bravest little black flying foxes we know. She was caught in fine black netting on a mandarin tree. It was 25mm (one inch) square so we don’t see how it was protecting the fruit. Mandy was trapped by both wings and a piece in her mouth was cutting into the corners of her mouth. Despite these awful injuries, she’s been a trooper, and is gradually improving. She’ll be with us for quite a while yet, until her injuries fully heal.![]()
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Fruit trees can be protected in ways that don’t harm wildlife. Individual bags, shadecloth-style netting, or netting with holes that you can’t poke your little finger through pulled tight over a frame are all effective.![]()
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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.
In recognition of National Threatened Species Day yesterday, we’re delighted to share this post from our friends at Save Our Flying-foxes, Cairns QLD, a group doing great things for flying foxes in far north Queensland. If you enjoy our posts, we think you’ll love this page too. ❤ ![]()
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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.
FIREWORKS AND FOOD SHORTAGE![]()
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Dear Brisbane followers,![]()
Times are tough for flying foxes right now. Nothing much is flowering. To find food, flying foxes are coming down lower than usual and, as a result, we’ve had a tragic increase in rescue calls for bats mauled by dogs, hit by cars and caught in paling fences.![]()
You can help! Please keep your dogs inside at night. If they go out for a wee walk, please check your yard first for bats in your trees. If you have a wooden paling fence, please put something across the top so a bat leg can’t slide down into the gap.![]()
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Riverfire was last night. Flying foxes suffer burns from fireworks. They are flying along, minding their own business, when the air around them explodes with burning hot sparks. ![]()
Injuries range from singed fur to quite horrific burns.![]()
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This is Bridget, burnt by fireworks in December 2023. She recovered and has been released but what an awful injury. If you live in Brisbane, please keep an extra eye out over the next week for bats hanging low that may be burnt.![]()
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.
This lovely girl is Mud and she got her name…well, we’re sure you can guess. She spent a couple of days in a hospital enclosure inside where it was warm and dry. The day Mud moved to a flight aviary to continue her recovery was rainy and cold. We’d want to stay inside, right? Well, Mud is a wild animal who will only remain with us until she’s ready for release, so she was very happy to be outside despite the rain and chill. In any case, it will help her clean herself up. 🛀![]()
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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 small bundle of joy is Rachel who was just 12 weeks old when she was spotted in a palm tree by some young people. Thanks so much for calling to get her help. Being born so late, she was struggling to find enough to eat through our cold winter, and was only two-thirds the weight she should be. Her rescue was a challenge because Rachel saw the net coming closer and flew off. Her rescuer searched the whole block only to find Rachel was too weak to fly far and was in the next tree. Oops.![]()
Rachel will stay in care until she’s a healthy weight and is flying strongly, then we’ll release her for her second chance at life. ![]()
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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.
Elk is a young black flying fox who was feeling poorly. When our rescuer, who he sees as a predator, approached, he bravely spread his wings to tell her he’s a scary bat and she should back off. Luckily, she's very experienced in dealing with scared flying foxes so she safely scooped him up and brought him into care, where he graciously accepted banana smoothie.![]()
A check by the wildlife vet team at RSPCA QLD showed Elk had pneumonia and a sore eye. Thanks very much for treatment for these issues. Elk is now in a flight aviary rebuilding his strength and will be released back to the wild when 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.