By Fiona Bassett | Project Manager
We are in for another long season this year as we still have plenty of adult and juvenile bats in care waiting to go through the release facility's large flight aviary at Kukundi. These bats have come into care for a variety of reasons, but the major cause is from being entangled in netting that is used in backyards to protect fruit trees from wildlife. Unfortunately the majority of the netting used has inappropriate mesh size (too large) which means bats and other wildlife are easily entangled.
There is a lengthy process of rehabilitation that each bat needs to go through, with the last part of their rehab journey in the large cage getting flight fit before release. Once in the cage they are given 2 to 3 weeks to build up strength and muscle tone. Before we open that hatch we do a "catch up" where each bat is caught, examined and flight tested. Those that don't pass are brought back into care and for the rest the hatch of the cage is opened. We support feed for as long as required - and it can sometimes take weeks for the bats to have all left the cage. Once gone they have all gone the hatch is closed and the process is stared over again for the next lot of bats.
We probably have at least two more rounds of bats going through before we can hopefully close the facility for a well earned break and get some maintenance work done.
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