Help Baby Bats Take Flight!

Another pup season is well underway, starting early, and unfortunately, with a lot of pups coming into care. October is usually when we begin to start to get pups, with November being the busier month. However, this October we have had over 100 pups come into care just in the greater Sydney area which has caught a few of us by surprise, having to hastily get mumma rolls, dummies and teats and milk organised. Added to this there have been a few weather issues in Cowra, which is 218km (135miles) west of Sydney. We have had a very wet and cold spring, with excessive cold weather causing the death of many pups. In addition, a roost tree collapsed due to the continual wet and cold weather combined with excessive wind. Many mums and babies, and orphaned pups needed to be rescued. 20 of these pups were transported to Sydney where they were placed with local carers to raise.

I would like to share with you the stories of the 3 pups that we have in care now:

Ash:

Ash came into care on the 10 October at 8 days old, weighing 86g (3.2 ounces). His mum had been electrocuted on powerlines, but he had survived. In this sort of situation, we call the power company, and they send out a team to rescue the pup. Obviously, any human power emergency takes precedent over rescuing a pup, and this was a busy day for the power company, When he was finally brought down off the power lines later that night he was very cold and seemed lifeless. The two ladies who were involved in his rescue, Jo and Rae, worked on him to re—warm and “bring him back to life.” He was brought over to us very late that night so that we could stabilize and care for him. He is now 60 days old and weighs a healthy 205gm (7 ounces). He is now spending all his time on the airer as he can maintain his body temperature, and is starting to eat fruit – he loves pears. Ash has a sweet personality , is pretty chill and enjoys a good head and belly rub.

Addie:

Addie was found alone on the ground at the campus of the University of New South Wales by a ground’s person. She came to us of the 25 October, 18 days old. Addie now 56 days old, spending most of her time on the airer and enjoying fruit. Initially Addie was not an easy bat to raise as she has struggled to feed well and put on weight. Fortunately, this seems to have passed and she is thriving now. Personality wise, Addie is not quite as ‘chilled out’ as Ash, but she loves a good head rub, loves blossom and fruit. Her favourite food at the moment is yoghurt and she will cover herself in it given the chance. Unlike Ash, who is very fluffy, Addie is long and slim wih a narrow face. Early on when she was moving around the humidicrib she looked a bit like a spider, hence her nickname “Spider-Bat”

Ida:

Ida was also found on the ground on someone’s driveway. She came to us on 31 October, at 12 days old weighing 79gm (2.8 ounces). She had grazes on both her thumbs and under her chin but apart from that had no other injuries. Ida started off well in care, feeding well and putting on weight. However, a few weeks in she went through a period of regurgitating up her milk feeds, and was failing to thrive. Apart from the regurgitation, she seemed in good health so was a bit of a puzzle to work out. We tried many different things to try and help keep the milk down, and over a period of 2 (very stressful on my part) weeks, the issue seemed to resolve itself (thankfully!) Ida splits her time between the airer and humidicrib and next week she will be introduced to fruit. I find the introduction of fruit to pups quite stressful as you need to make sure that they spit the pulp of the fruit and not swallow it. You watch them intently to make sure that they can do this – you don’t want the pulp to be swallowed as it can cause bowel obstructions. Ida is a gentle natured pup pup who is starting to become more inquisitive about her surrounds. She loves a head and tummy rub.

Following on from our most recent pup season, which was a quiet one, winter has also seen fewer numbers of animals coming into care. There have been between as little as 5 and to 10 flying foxes and microbats being reported to our bat hotline on a weekly basis. Many bats have headed up north for the winter season.

This autumn/winter we have had huge volumes of rain leading to significant flooding multiple times over the last 5 months in many areas of New South Wales. The excessive rainfall, coupled with the catastrophic bushfires of 2020, will most likely influence the food supply (flowering gums) and the flying fox movements around the country. So, it will be interesting to see how this will impact on numbers during the forthcoming pup season.

A quick review on reproduction in flying-foxes.

Males are sexually mature by 30 months and females by age two. Mating occurs between March and May and starts with the males marking their territory in a tree with secretions from scent glands on their shoulder. The male will actively defend their territory from other males, which means it can be very noisy in the camp site over this period. The females usually become pregnant between March and April which is Autumn in Australia. There is a 6-month gestation period, with mums giving birth in spring, mainly October to November.

They give birth in the treetops of the camp to a single pup – twins are sometimes born but often only one will survive. As soon as the pup is born it begins to suckle from its mother. There is a nipple (teat) beneath each wing pit that the pup will latch onto. The pups have milk teeth that curve backwards so that they can keep a firm hold onto the nipple. At night when the mother flies out to search for food the pup clings to her, firmly latched onto the nipple, with its claws in her fur. Newborns are born well furred except for their stomach which is usually tucked up against the mother under her wing. The pup is not able to maintain its own body temperature until it is a lot older, so stays close to its mother for that period. Pups are born with their eyes open and weight around 70-80grams (2.4-2.8 ounces)

Several seasons ago I had the privilege of having pregnant females who gave birth while in care. It was an amazing experience to watch these mums give birth and then care for their pups- many hours were spent just sitting and watching them. I have included in this report some stills from videos that I took while they were in care.

I trust that you all have been keeping safe and well during this global pandemic. Thank you so much for your generous donations that enable us to continue to rescue and release back into the wild these amazing bats. We could not do it without your help.