Flying fox heat wave death toll could be as high as 5000

[barryqwalsh]

THE flying fox death toll at Casino has been revised upwards to more than 3000 and could be as high as 5000, WIRES Northern Rivers estimates.

Temperatures hit record highs at Casino over the weekend, hitting 44.1°C on Saturday afternoon, preliminary statistics from the Bureay of Meteorology reveal.

>> Residents have been urged not to try and personally help any distressed flying foxes they find because of the risk of lyssavirus infection from bites or scratches. Parents and teachers have been warned to remain especially vigilant of children who might want to help the flying foxes. If you find a distressed flying fox, phone WIRES Northern Rivers on 6628 1898 or Richmond Valley Council on 6660 0300.

Flying fox heat wave death toll could be as high as 5000 Northern Star

 

[Valerie]

huh??

 

[Freewill]

THE flying fox death toll at Casino has been revised upwards to more than 3000 and could be as high as 5000, WIRES Northern Rivers estimates.

Temperatures hit record highs at Casino over the weekend, hitting 44.1°C on Saturday afternoon, preliminary statistics from the Bureay of Meteorology reveal.

>> Residents have been urged not to try and personally help any distressed flying foxes they find because of the risk of lyssavirus infection from bites or scratches. Parents and teachers have been warned to remain especially vigilant of children who might want to help the flying foxes. If you find a distressed flying fox, phone WIRES Northern Rivers on 6628 1898 or Richmond Valley Council on 6660 0300.

Flying fox heat wave death toll could be as high as 5000 Northern Star

I see that they have legalized Pot in your state.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I had read that there were more than 45K dead in just one day in Queensland. Really sad and we're sure to see a lot more massive die-offs of various species as climate change continues and worsens.

Also disheartening is the ignorance about their place in ecology and good they do.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Killer climate tens of thousands of flying foxes dead in a day - Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment - University of Western Sydney

Falling from the sky
At the beginning of this year, a severe heatwave developed over much of the central and eastern interior of Australia.

On January 4, northwest winds blew the heat to southeast Queensland, which is home to black, grey-headed, and little red flying foxes.

Record temperatures were recorded at nine locations, including Nambour (42.9°C), Beerburrum (43.4°C) and Archerfield (43.5°C). The hottest was Beaudesert, in the Gold Coast hinterland, where temperatures hit a withering 44.6°C.

Soon, social media outlets were abuzz with sightings of mass flying fox deaths, while news sites reported thousands of dead falling from the sky.

We coordinated a massive data-gathering effort to work out the extent of the die-off, visiting colonies between Gladstone in Queensland to the NSW border, and collating numerous reports from state and local government, wildlife care groups and concerned citizens.

More than 45,500 dead and 1000 orphaned

A young black flying-fox, orphaned during the mass die-off in southeast Queensland this summer.Paislie Hadley, CC BY-NC-ND
The carnage we found was horrific. Some colonies had more dead than live animals, with thousands of corpses piled on the ground and hanging in trees. Council workers removed wheelie bins full of bodies, and wildlife carers were swamped with more than 1000 orphaned young flying-foxes.

Our current minimum estimate is that at least 45,500 flying-foxes died that day, in 52 of the 162 colonies we assessed.

All three species – black, grey-headed, and little red flying-foxes – were affected.

However, the more tropical black flying fox was by far the hardest hit (which was in line with previous findings), representing 96% of the dead. These deaths represent about half of the black flying fox population present in the region before the January heatwave, as estimated in surveys coordinated by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.

More at the link.