About 100,000 bats dead after heatwave in southern Queensland

[peoli]

Source: Australian Broadcasting Company

About 100,000 bats may have died as a result of last weekend's heatwave in southern Queensland, the RSPCA says.

Mass deaths at about 25 separate colonies have been reported since the weekend, including at Mt Ommaney, Redbank, Boonah, Palmwoods, Laidley and Gatton.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty says the heatwave was a significant hit to the population of bats across the state.

"The heatwave was basically a catastrophe for all the bat colonies in south-east Queensland," he said

Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-08/hundred-thousand-dead-bats-after-qld-heatwave-rspca-says/5190644

[onehandle]

1. Crap. Bats are more important than most people realize.

100,000 bats can wipe out millions of bothersome insects in one night.

Move along folks. Nothing to see here...

Global Climate Change has just started...

[Warpy]

2. Yes, especially in Oz

They eat insects and people in NSW and Queensland are going to be plagued by swarms and swarms of flying insects now.

They need to hire all those fellahs from Coober Pedy to dig bat caves into hillsides because it's a sure bet there will be future killing heat waves. Bats in caves likely survived this one.

[anasv]

6. commas are important

[Warpy]

8. So's sleep

and I'm short on that, too.

[kmlisle]

3. Was in Cairns last week

They have a colony right down town that we visited. Hope they survived. Cairns is on the ocean and tends to stay a little cooler. But it was 91 the last day we were there.

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Damn. If only I had known this was gonna happen…

I'd have paid for my mother-in-law to be in Oz at the time.

[lonestarnot]

5. Damn. They eat bugs. That is a bunch of bats.

[truthisfreedom]

7. Man, they'll have to bring back DDT!

Such sad news.