Things have gone a little batty in the Northern Illawarra, with the number of grey-headed flying foxes in our local camp having exploded. While the site of the camps (colonies) usually remains the same, the numbers in these sites are highly variable. The camp near us in Thirroul is usually a small, temporary home for the summer to a few dozen of these caped teddy bears but over the last few weeks the numbers have increased and the camp is now huge (and spectacular).

Okay, let’s address the elephant – well, the bat – in the room. Bats are not dirty, they are not a threat to the community and the environment needs them. Grey-headed flying foxes are mega bats and they’re referred to as a keystone species, meaning that they are one of the keys to the survival of an ecosystem.

These bats are vital for the pollination and seed dispersal of the many native species throughout our forests. They can actually travel up to 50 kilometres a night in search of food, so that’s a lot of area that a single bat can disperse the seed in.

So why these huge numbers now? Janine Davies from Bats - Bomaderry and Beyond explains that these animals travel the coast of eastern Australia from Queensland, through New South Wales, Victoria and across to South Australia and as they return, they’re moving into areas for food.

Janine says, “At this time of year they are travelling north, following the flowering of various trees to enable them to feed. Due to deforestation, a lot of their feed trees have been destroyed and when this happens we find them in urban areas.”

Add in the fires and floods and the all-round wild weather, many of the usual sources of their favourite food, the nectar of Eucalypt blossoms, are not there this season and so they congregate where they can find food.

There’s a lot of myths out there about the danger that these bats can pose to humans but Janine stresses, “There is no risk from flying-foxes if you do not touch them. There is less than 1% [of bats] being infected with Australian Bat Lyssavirus.”

If you do find a sick or injured bat, don’t touch it or try to move it in anyway. Instead, contact your local wildlife carer; Janine suggests downloading the IFAW Wildlife Rescue App to locate your nearest, and a specially trained and vaccinated bat carer will attend.  

If you can, take the time to look skyward at dusk. The sight of thousands of bats taking to the sky, swirling and circling and then moving out into the night is one not to be missed. Honestly. We stood absolutely mesmerised when we headed out to watch.

These particular bats won’t be here for long and will continue their trek north shortly. Importantly, if we don’t prioritise these animals and the forest that supports them, they, and many other species, won’t be here permanently.

“If we are to lose the flying-foxes, we will lose habitat that will also affect other species such as koala, possums, birds, insects etc, that depend on the forests," Janine says. "As our night-time pollinators, without them so many eucalypt forests will cease to exist, as too will native fruit trees.”