Our town was almost overrun by these little guys. Two of the parks plus the town pool were closed but a lot have moved on and we all hope they don't return. They are smelly and carry disease.
must be a bit creepy! i was reading how they were falling out of the sky dead in sydney with the heat and what an important part they play in the forest ecosystem.
Interesting capture full of fine detail, Sheralee, scared the life out of me when I first visited Australia in 1968, still don't like them at all, those large Fruit Bats are hideous:)
@kali66 Yes, these are fruit bats Kali. Yes, I heard about that and we were all hoping it would happen here but they're too used to the heat up here. We've had temps around 40C and it hasn't bothered them. The problem here is they are in our parks and gardens. If they are in someone's tree they can't go into their yard and the smell is terrible.
Fabulous shot, but they are such a nuisance. We drive through Raymond Terrace occasionally on our way to Maitland or Morpeth and there are hundreds of flying foxes there. The smell is awful as we drive by and thank goodness we don't live close. Why on earth are the a protected species. I would get rid of the lot of them.
@onewing Almost everyone that has to live with them agrees with you Babs. Years ago they were culled when allowed to build up to too many but there is little we can do now. The people that make these laws need to be in the houses that are affected by them. Also the businesses that are affected by them. There is a restaurant right near a colony and they used to have lovely outdoor dining, I sure don't want to eat there with the stench from them. Not too mention anyone trying to sell their house that is too close to them.
Wonderful shot. Sharp as a tack. I had no idea about the intricacies of the fruit bat species. From reading the comments, it sounds as though there may be some pluses and considerable minuses to having them around.
