this cutie was taken by Crazyegg95 in 2005 and is from flickr

lizardrinking
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Monday 9 February 2009

bats and bushfires






My Melbourne brother went for a walk nowhere near (I hope) the fires that have been raging in Victoria and which have claimed a hundred plus lives. It has been 46 degrees Celsius, which is 114 degrees Fahrenheit, or thereabouts, over there. He said there were bats dead in the trees, and one that was alive (the last photo). Or were they sleeping? Probably dead. Why would they be out in the open like that in broad daylight otherwise? I am guessing that the general heat got them, or that they were fleeing the bushfires and died from a mixture of the heat, exhaustion, disorientation and smoke inhalation. Any information from bat experts out there would be welcome.
* Note: It seems from this article that this hanging about in the daylight hours is quite normal. I'll have to ask my brother just which part of bushland he walked in. Also seems they are Flying foxes or Fruit bats. Still, cool photos.

2 comments:

anglophile said...

Wow, amazing that he could get so close, no wonder he thought they were dead. But I think it likely that if they died, they would have fallen off the branch? Those suckers are big. I don't mind little bats but something that big would probably creep me out a bit.

lizardrinking said...

I think that too, glo... but then maybe there was some form of rigor mortis, curling of the claws? I think your observation is probably the right one. However, I've posted it now, and sent it out. Rashly rushing in when angels fear to tread, lol.

this cutie was taken by Crazyegg95 in 2005 and is from flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/crazyegg95/69994802/

lizardrinking