Giant bats wreak havoc in Australia :: El Litoral – News – Santa Fe – Argentina

The Animal Welfare Service has counted more than 25,000 specimens of this species, which are listed as endangered. The gray-headed flying fox, as it is commonly known in the scientific world, is the largest and fastest bat in this ocean region, reaching up to one and a half meters in wingspan.

Over the course of several nights, this unusual herd has encircled the vicinity of South Australia’s Great Southern Highlands, its natural habitats, and dozens of residential suburbs and the city’s large power plants. Because they are so numerous and so large, they attack electrical connections and form dark spots; This week alone, there were 15 power outages. In an interview with local newspapers, Australian veterinarian Paul Roberts explained that it is not uncommon for this type of animal to fly in herds and fly less this year, while describing the phenomenon as unusual.

First, Roberts recalled that this species, although threatened due to its large size, is harmless to humans until it is attacked. Later, he stressed that the giant bats in this region of the country are the most vulnerable on the planet, because climate change has seen a significant reduction in their flocks, and along with higher temperatures, has forced them to migrate to other areas; However, not all escaped the Crusades. The problems with darkers are that their flight capabilities are inexperienced because they are not adult, and therefore, they crash against electrical connections and high voltage regulators, resulting in widespread malfunctions and light flickers.

In general, these animals are easily found in the cosmopolitan city of Adelaide in southern Australia, the largest cradle of gray-headed flying foxes in the country. But with the changes in temperature, they have moved to more southern areas, where it is very difficult to see them flying. This giant bat, although the largest in Australia, is not the largest species in the world because its Philippine cousin is three times larger.